


Family's Just Another Word For Something Left To Lose

by Chrononautical



Category: Naruto
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff and Angst, Kid Fic, M/M, and then so much fluff, really this is fluff, the kid is Naruto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-04 08:14:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 62,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6649681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chrononautical/pseuds/Chrononautical
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kakashi lives in the darkness, which is more than he deserves, but for Naruto he'll step into the light.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Shadows of ANBU broke my heart completely, so I decided to write this AU as a coping mechanism. Takes place after Tenzo/Yamato was rescued from Root and just after Guy witnessed what Kakashi's missions were like in black ops. I may have fuzzed the time line a little, because it's hard to keep track with things that we only see happen in the anime and may not be recorded in the data books. Constructive criticism is very welcome, especially on that point.

There was a particular silence in Leaf Village at night. In a way it was the sleepy quiet of any not too large village after a certain point in the evening when almost everyone had gone to bed. The only noise was the wind through the trees, the occasional bark of a dog when a nighttime pest found its way into the animal’s domain, and the soft movements of tired people in their homes. Yet the silence of Leaf Village after dark was a lie, for many shinobi were awake and moving silently through it.

As an ANBU running across the rooftops to report in after a long mission, Kakashi was one of those moving silently so as not to disturb his comrades. He liked to think that those lucky enough to sleep deeply were able to do so because they trusted those in the darkness to keep the village safe. When the particular thuds of blows being landed and the soft sobs of a child reached his ears, Kakashi turned at once to find the fight. 

What he found in a dark alley between two buildings wasn’t a fight at all. Four adult men were surrounding a small, bleeding boy. One man—an Inuzuka by the markings on his face—was kicking the child repeatedly. All of the men smelled of alcohol and bad feeling. Observing further wasn’t necessary. Ripping the man off of the boy, Kakashi pinned the Inuzuka to the wall by his neck. He was old for a genin, unlikely to advance, but frustration with life was no excuse for violence against a child of the village. There was no excuse for violence against a child of the village.

“Report,” Kakashi demanded.

“ANBU, sir,” the only chunin in the group said in surprise. “It isn’t what you think.” Which could only mean that the boy wasn’t a child of the village; he was a spy. Quickly winking open his Sharingan behind his ANBU mask, Kakashi checked to make sure that the boy was in fact a boy. There was no transformation or illusion on the child, so the men had still been using excessive and unnecessary force. There might be shinobi children who were strong enough that subduing them would require so much anger, but the way this boy was curled around at least three broken ribs suggested that he was not of that number. More likely, he was sent in as a spy because his age and lack of finesse would make Leaf Shinobi treat him kindly. Kakashi was not proud that his village had proven otherwise.

“What village are you from, boy?” He didn’t bother to release the Inuzuka while he addressed the kid. He wouldn’t let cruelty go unnoticed, and it would serve the genin well to worry a little.

“Leaf Village,” the child said, coughing blood onto his hand and looking up at Kakashi with alarmingly blue eyes. “I live in Leaf Village.”

“You’re right,” Kakashi said, lifting one leg almost casually to kick the chunin hard into the brick wall opposite the one the child was leaning against. “This isn’t what I thought.”

“ANBU, sir,” one of the other men started, perhaps thinking he had a right to explain himself. Kakashi was only using his left hand to hold the child-beating Inuzuka by his throat. His right hand was free to pin the speaker’s sleeve with a kunai.

“Silence. Who are your parents, boy?”

“I don’t have any parents. They died in the war.”’

Four men—four active shinobi—had been beating a war orphan of their own village in an alley. Something was missing, some key element, but if the boy had done something to deserve such treatment, the men would be shouting about it. This wasn’t the righteous anger of men who had been robbed; this was something darker. “Do you have a name, then?”

The boy pulled himself to his feet. Kakashi could tell it hurt him badly to do so. He wanted to tell the child to stay down. Standing abruptly could cause one of the broken ribs to puncture a lung and do even more damage. It was obvious that any advice would go unheeded, though. By the defiant way he shoved his chin in the air, Kakashi could tell that this was a point of pride for the boy. His name was important and he expected Kakashi to react to it. Kakashi didn’t have the heart to tell the child that he had never cared much about the different clans, even if the kid was a Hyuga or an Uchiha outlier born with blond hair and the wrong eyes.

“Naruto Uzumaki!”

Kakashi reacted.

Chidori in hand before he’d even consciously decided that all four men needed to die; the only thing that stopped Kakashi from thrusting it through the Inuzuka’s heart was the voice of the Third Hokage.

“ANBU Hound, release him.”

Kakashi paused for a long moment before releasing both the neck of the traitor and the lightning in his right hand. “Lord Hokage,” he said, taking a knee as was proper for an ANBU giving a report, “these men are guilty of a treason punishable by death.”

It was technically true. Leaf Village—like every village with a jinchuriki—had a written law stating that attacking the jinchuriki was treason immediately punishable by death without trial. Jinchuriki generally killed attackers with extreme prejudice and they often lost control in the process, doing even greater damage to the village. Idiots needed to know what the consequences for their actions would be, and tailed beasts were enough trouble to control without being mortally threatened. A village couldn’t afford to punish a host for such an irrepressible response, so they made it legal. Generally others didn’t carry out the punishment if the jinchuriki left it incomplete.

Kakashi thought an exception in this case would be appropriate. It had been five years since Kakashi had seen the screaming little baby with the black Uzumaki seal swirling around his newly tied belly button, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care about the child. Men who attacked Minato-sensei’s son did not deserve to live.

“ANBU Hound, report.”

“This boy is Naruto Uzumaki, a war orphan of the village. These shinobi of the village attacked him without provocation. They knew the law, and they knew that their actions are punishable by execution. If you will allow me, Lord Hokage, I will carry out the sentence immediately.”

“Perhaps a little leniency is permissible in this case, ANBU.”

“Lord Hokage—“

“They will report to me in the morning and I will make clear my opinion on violence against a fellow villager. Is that understood?”

The four drunks chimed in an obedient chorus of “Yes, sir,” and “Lord Hokage,” but Kakashi’s murderous intent wasn’t soothed. The men were shinobi enough to sense as much and they fled the moment the Hokage offered them a stern nod.

“As for you, Young Naruto, what are you doing walking the streets so late at night?”

“I can do what I want, you know! I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Still,” the Hokage said blandly and Naruto deflated. 

“I was at the park and everyone’s parents came to take them home and Choji’s mom yelled at him for talking to me even though I only asked if he wanted to have my piece of candy. Then Taro said that Choji was lucky his mom looked out for him since hanging out with me was the only thing worse than being a fat kid and if I had parents maybe they would care enough to stop me from trying to be friends with a loser like Choji. But then Choji said maybe I was lucky that I could stay at the park as late as I wanted because he’d never been allowed after dark. His mom was really mad at him for talking to me again, but he said it anyway. So I thought maybe if I did stay at the park late then I could tell him about it tomorrow if his mom wasn’t watching. But it wasn’t cool; it just got dark and cold. And then I couldn’t find my apartment because it was dark and everything looked different. And then those guys saw me and I asked them if they knew where I lived, but they got really mad and one of them threw a bottle at me and so I ran away. But then they chased me. And then I ran into this alley. Well I thought this was an alley, but then it didn’t go anywhere. And then I couldn’t get away. But then Mister ANBU came and he saved me.”

While he was speaking, Naruto looked down, holding his ribs and scrubbing a restless hand through his spiky blond hair or wiping aimlessly at his face. He didn’t look at the Third Hokage at all except to occasionally peer up at him sideways, like a puppy waiting for a scolding. When he reached the end of his tale, though, those bright blue eyes looked to Kakashi with absolute adoration. Being looked at that way felt like a strong kick to the gut.

“Very well,” the Hokage sighed. “ANBU Hound will escort you home.”

“Lord Hokage, I am afraid I misheard you. My orders are to escort the boy to the hospital, where his broken ribs will be treated, correct?”

Looking down at Naruto with cold analysis, the Third Hokage spoke. “I wonder. Does Naruto need to go to the hospital?”

“No,” Naruto said quickly, standing up even straighter. “I’m strong.”

It was true. Kakashi could see that the boy was already holding himself less like someone with broken ribs and more like someone with very bad bruising and possibly a crack or two. The cut just above his eye was steaming a little and closing as Kakashi looked on.

“I’m going to be a shinobi when I grow up, you know,” the boy continued obliviously. “I don’t need to go to the hospital just because some guys knocked me down.”

“Good,” the Third Lord said. Compared to the absolute reserve he had shown since appearing at the end of the alley, this praise was almost kind. Naruto looked thrilled by it. Kakashi had seen the Third Hokage get on his knees to play with other five year olds, laughing and teasing the way young children seemed to like best. Strict formality was clearly a strategy developed specifically to deal with the jinchuriki. Kakashi wasn’t sure how he felt about that. It was slowly occurring to him that he didn’t know much at all about his teacher’s son.

“I will come to deliver my mission report after I see the child home safely, Lord Hokage.”

“Take your time, ANBU Hound. It was a long mission and I cannot see that you need to rush.”

Kakashi nodded, not entirely certain what that meant as far as his orders were concerned, and remained on his knees until the Hokage was gone. “Do you require assistance to walk?”

“No,” the boy said stubbornly.

It was hard to maintain the reserve necessary for an ANBU while dealing with a child. At five Kakashi would have understood the subtleties easily, but Naruto obviously did not. Most children would not. Naruto was normal, nothing like the child Kakashi had been. Kakashi let his manner slip a little. The Hokage might still be watching, but Kakashi sensed no one in the dark alley except Naruto.

“Well, if you’re sure you don’t want to ride on the shoulders of one of the tallest ANBU in the village, I guess I can’t force you,” he said with a teasing lilt in his voice. “It might make a good story to tell your friends at the park tomorrow. I’m sure none of them have ever even spoken to a black ops shinobi, but you probably have a lot to distinguish you from your peer group already.”

“Hey, no,” the boy said, suddenly indignant, “I want a ride!”

Scooping the child up easily, Kakashi perched the boy on his shoulders. Naruto’s hands gripped the ears of Kakashi’s porcelain dog mask like it was the most natural thing in the world. Strangely, it almost felt as though it was. 

“Where do you live, kiddo?”

“I don’t know,” Naruto said. Kakashi could practically hear him rolling his eyes. “I got lost, remember.”

“So lost that you forgot what your house looks like, what compound it’s in, and who you live with? That is pretty bad.”

Naruto laughed, loud and carefree, shattering the quiet of the evening. “I live in an apartment by myself,” he said, rattling off an address. “I didn’t forget, I just don’t know where it went.”

Frowning a little underneath his mask, Kakashi turned left. He knew the place, of course. There wasn’t a corner of the village that he didn’t know, but it wasn’t exactly the nicest building. Minato-sensei’s son shouldn’t live in a rundown apartment with leaky pipes every winter and shingles that fell from the roof every spring. A normal five-year-old boy had no business living alone. Still, Kakashi sprinted dutifully toward the apartment complex, taking the rooftop route because he knew the boy would enjoy it. In that much at least Kakashi was correct, if Naruto’s giddy laughter was any measure.

Theory was once again borne out in reality when Kakashi set the boy down in front of his door. The tiny one room apartment was a mess. Clothes—that all seemed to be standard issue white t-shirts with the village emblem, cheap black shorts, and a single orange sweatshirt—were strewn across the floor around an unmade bed. A small heap of dirty dishes were haphazardly piled in the sink. Moving the wrong plate even slightly would collapse the thing and break at least one glass, assuming that the glasses were as cheaply made as they appeared. Only a child who clearly didn’t understand why things broke would leave glassware sideways at the bottom of several days worth of dishes.

“Would you like a cup of tea?” the boy asked. It was a strangely specific display of manners for a child whose table was covered in papers with messy drawings and a few scribbled kanji.

“Yes, thank you.”

Punching the air, Naruto whooped and spun in a circle. Kakashi stared a little. “Sorry,” Naruto said, blushing quickly. “Here, sit here and I’ll make it.” Naruto shoved a few picture books off one of his two chairs and pushed his writing practice papers onto the floor. Bouncing up a teetering stepstool, he filled the electric kettle with water and started it up before getting a box of tea down from cupboard. He also pulled out a teapot and two teacups. From the fact that they were clean and not chipped Kakashi surmised that the set was either new or used infrequently.

Setting the tea things on the table, Naruto bounced back over to the cupboards. “I’m going to have some ramen, too! I didn’t have dinner because I stayed at the park and now I’m really hungry.” After Naruto pulled out a cup of miso flavored noodles, there were seven packs of instant ramen left in the boy’s pantry along with a sad, half empty bag of rice.

“Just tea is fine for me,” Kakashi said, making Naruto snicker like he’d worked some mischievous trick that Kakashi couldn’t see quite yet. “Instant ramen is hardly a nutritious supper, though. You should put some vegetables in that or eat a piece of fruit as well.”

“Oh,” Naruto said, opening the small refrigerator. It was completely empty except for a carton of expired milk and a bottle of soy sauce. “I don’t have any of those things,” the boy said unnecessarily. “I don’t really like vegetables.”

Whistling, the kettle began filling the little kitchen area with billowing steam. A little whirlwind of energy, Naruto raced over and snatched it off the heater. Kakashi winced internally when the boiling water splashed around the counter, but Naruto managed not to spill any on his arms as he filled the little teapot and his styrofoam cup of instant ramen. Picking up the little white kitchen timer from beside his electric kettle, Naruto very carefully set it for three minutes and placed it next to his cup ramen. Showing far less care, he splashed tea from the pot into both cups. It was lucky that the boy healed so quickly. Kakashi imagined that he injured himself frequently just doing simple chores and cooking meals. He took his time with things that required thought like reading numbers, and was careless when it came to things that might hurt him like boiling water. He needed supervision.

“This is very nice tea,” Kakashi said politely, pretending to sip by holding the cup to his porcelain mask. Naruto didn’t question the mechanics of Kakashi’s drinking, just snickered happily again and took a big sip from his own cup before burning his mouth and wincing at the taste.

“I don’t like tea,” Naruto scowled dumping his in the sink and filling his cup with cold water instead. “You can have all of it.” Blinking quickly, he looked up at Kakashi with those wide blue eyes. “Because you like it, right? So you can stay and drink it.”

“Yes,” Kakashi said, pretending to take a second sip. “One might call me a tea drinker..”

“I knew you would,” Naruto said, tearing the paper cover completely off his noodle cup just as the timer rang its little bell. “Ever since I got it, the old man always stays long enough to drink a cup. It’s magic tea.”

“Magic?”

“The woman at the store told me so, you know. She said when someone comes to your home, if you offer him a cup of tea, he’ll stay and drink it. It’s called Poe Light. I think it’s a special jutsu.”

Kakashi allowed a small chuckled even though he was still wearing his ANBU mask. “I suppose that is a sort of magic, isn’t it.”

“I’ve got the old man with it three times now. He stayed and drank the whole cup,” Naruto said wistfully, pausing his rapid inhalation of ramen noodles briefly. “He even asked me how my reading practice was getting along since they told me I didn’t need to go to the preschool anymore.”

Usually children of the village attended the preschool in preparation for entry into the academy. If the writing practice littering the floor was any standard, Kakashi thought the boy could use another year or two before he was ready for the level of work required at the ninja academy. “When you say the ‘Old Man’?”

“You know, the Old Man—the Hokage. He comes every month and gives me some money.” Naruto pointed to a wall calendar with crossed out days and a red circle showing that he only needed to wait five days for the next visit.

“Naruto, do you have any money left from his last visit?”

The boy blushed tomato red and looked despondently down at his empty ramen cup. “No,” he said softly. “I would give you some if you wanted it.” He perked up with a sudden thought. “If you come back again after the Old Man comes, I could give you some money then as a reward for saving me!”

“I don’t want your money, Naruto.” Kakashi watched the boy’s face fall. Apparently without friends and unwelcome in the local school, the child was so desperate for company that he would eagerly pay for it. “You are aware that you do not have enough food in this house to last you comfortably until the Hokage brings your next stipend, are you not?”

It was strange that the Hokage was personally delivering a war orphan’s stipend, though certainly not stranger than a five year old settled on his own. Perhaps the Hokage did not trust the money to be delivered otherwise. Perhaps Naruto had been living alone for some time now. Perhaps tonight’s danger had not been an isolated incident.

“Oh.” Naruto bounced over to his calendar and laboriously counted out the five days then he skipped back to his cupboard and counted out the seven packages of ramen. When he finished his counting he sat down on the floor and scowled for a minute before saying, “Well, I guess I’ll have to eat rice for a while. Thanks for telling me,” he added happily. “Now I can still eat one pack every day, and I can eat two packs on three of the days and just eat the rice when I get hungry again later.”

“Two days, Naruto,” Kakashi said gently, not at all certain that there was enough rice left in that bag to really tide the boy over. He looked again at the nice teapot and the expensive brand name on the box, thinking uncharitable thoughts about the woman who convinced the boy to buy them. “Seven divided by five leaves two remaining. You have two days when you can eat two packages.”

“Oh. Thanks, Mister ANBU. You’re really smart, aren’t you?”

Kakashi had never felt more foolish in his life. For five years after the death of the most important person in his life, the man who had shown him what character really was, the person who had been the father to him than Sakumo Hatake couldn’t be, Kakashi had ignored his debts. Living his life, hiding behind his duties as a shinobi, Kakashi had never once even looked in on his teacher’s son. He’d just assumed that the boy would be happily placed with a foster family, as was the case with most infant war orphans. Perhaps the Uchiha would have taken him in. Minato-sensei and Kushina had been very close with some of Obito’s cousins who had a son that was only a week or two older than Naruto. Instead, the boy had been living so deeply in squalor and neglect that he didn’t even know it.

“I have to go.”

“What? Why? You didn’t even drink all of the tea,” Naruto said, his eyes filling with fat, wet tears.

“It is late and I need to report in to the Hokage.”

“Everybody always does what the Hokage tells them to,” Naruto shouted, a few of the tears shook loose from the corners of his eyes, but he wasn’t exactly crying. “When I grow up, I’m going to be the Hokage and then you’ll have to stay and talk with me!”

“Naruto.” Kakashi knelt down and took the boy by his shoulders. His ANBU mask lessened the effect, but he couldn’t possibly take it off. “It is late. You are tired and you were hurt earlier. You need to sleep and heal. I will come back tomorrow and see you again.”

“Promise?” Naruto sniffed and wiped his tears away with chubby little fists.

“I swear it on my life.”

“Okay.” Naruto twisted the edge of his filthy white t-shirt between his fists, looking down at it rather than meeting Kakashi’s eye. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Do you have everything you need for tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Then good night, Naruto,” Kakashi said, releasing the boy and opening the apartment door quickly before the tears could start again. “Sleep well and I’ll see you tomorrow.”


	2. Chapter 2

The lights were on in the Hokage’s office. So late at night, that was all the invitation Kakashi needed. He wouldn’t normally have bothered with procedure—checking in with an aide and waiting in the hall—because the Hokage himself had ordered the clandestine operation from which he was returning. Reporting the moment he returned to the village was no less than his duty required. Spending so much time with Naruto was dereliction enough. Waiting until morning would have been ridiculous, but a little formality on this occasion seemed appropriate.

Naruto was more observant than he seemed. The Third Hokage did look like a very old man, sitting behind a big desk with a hat hanging off the back of his chair, staring at a crystal ball as though it had real answers to offer. Kakashi wondered for the first time in his life if he had placed too much faith in the office, if he knew enough about the man holding it. Of course he did nothing at all to indicate his doubts.

Kneeling, as a good ANBU should, Kakashi reported on the successful assassination of all three of his targets, the information he had obtained about Mist’s bizarrely fluctuating leadership, and carefully placed the stolen forbidden jutsu scroll on the Hokage’s desk.

“Well done, ANBU Hound,” the Hokage said when his report was completed, “But I rather suspect there is another matter that you would like to discuss with me.”

“No, sir,” Kakashi said. “If I may be dismissed, sir.”

The Hokage smiled sadly in understanding and nodded. Kakashi left the room, took off his mask, and returned in the space of half a minute. He did not bother to change his clothes. ANBU Cat and ANBU Hawk—the Hokage’s guardians for the evening—were both old friends who knew very well that ANBU Hound was Kakashi Hatake.

It had been a while since Kakashi had visited the Hokage’s office for anything but official duty, though he was once practically a fixture there. The Fourth Hokage had asked Kakashi to become an ANBU, a black ops shinobi in his direct service. It had been a while since Kakashi had been anything else. Even with the ceramic mask insulating him, it was extremely difficult for Kakashi to be there without thinking of the last time he had casually visited those offices. Without the mask, memories assaulted him. 

A few days before Kushina’s due date—a few days before his death—Minato-sensei had called Kakashi into his office. Hugging him quickly, Kakashi’s old teacher had apologized. “I hope you know that I love you like a son,” he’d said. “By rights you should be present for the birth. You’ve been guarding her all these months and doing a great job. Moreover, I might need someone to hold my hand while Kushina does all the work.”

The Fourth Hokage had winked and it was clear just how sublimely happy he was despite the fact that he was trying to be serious. “You’re a part of the family, and I love you,” he said again, “but the Third Lord keeps insisting that Kushina needs to be sequestered.”

“If there’s danger, Sensei,” Kakashi had begun, because no amount of hugging could fluster him enough to make him forget his loyalty to the great man.

Minato-sensei had waved him away. “It’s just a precaution. I’ll be there with a whole squad of ANBU, but the Third Lord advises me to keep you in the village on this one. It doesn’t make sense to concentrate the strength of the village outside of it. Not to mention that Kushina and I would hardly be sequestered in secret if I brought all of my closest friends along.”

Kakashi remembered smiling for the first time in a long time. Minato-sensei’s moods had always been a little infectious, and spending so much time in the village watching Kushina live her life in peace had reminded him that there were still some things worth protecting. “As long as you don’t think you need me.”

“Look at this boy, getting an awfully big head these days. Don’t think I haven’t heard what they call you, Copy Ninja. I can protect my own wife without your illustrious support, sir.”

“I don’t know. I hear shinobi tend to lose a step once they get to be old men.”

Laughing, the Yellow Flash leapt for Kakashi, playfully wrestling his former student into a headlock until Kakashi gave in and admitted that the Hokage was still reasonably fast. Freeing Kakashi, the Fourth Lord had turned to look out over his village, smiling contentedly in the afternoon sunlight. “I am the luckiest man in the world, and my son will be luckier still to have an older brother like you.”

Minato-sensei’s smiles were like a contagious disease, and Kakashi had smirked back like a naïve fool, not knowing that the man would be dead in less than a week.

It was different, visiting the Third Hokage. For one thing, the curtains were drawn shut against the dark night and no one could look out over the village cheerfully. For another, Kakashi doubted that anyone would try to hug him.

“Lord Hokage,” he said, going through the motions, “If I may have a moment of your time, there is a matter that I would like to discuss.”

“How surprising,” the old man said with a wry smile. “Please, come in Mr. Hatake.”

Perhaps the Third Lord thought Kakashi’s posturing was irrelevant or unnecessary, but Kakashi truly believed that an ANBU must never show anything but absolute respect and deference to the Hokage, no matter who was watching. That was a point of national power and politics. It showed that the Hokage had a strong left hand to do his bidding. An ANBU could never slam both of his palms down hard on the Hokage’s desk and ask him who the hell was responsible for Naruto Uzumaki’s welfare. Kakashi Hatake had more leeway as a jounin.

“I suppose I am,” the Hokage said slowly.

“Thank you for that look at the big picture, sir. I mean, who is responsible for the child day-to-day?”

“Naruto is responsible for himself. Kakashi, if this is about that unfortunate incident this evening, you should know that I was alerted by the safeguards I have in place with plenty of time to stop something truly unfortunate from happening. I arrived only moments after you did, I simply thought that it would be best to allow you to handle it.”

“This isn’t about some drunks waylaying a five year old in an alley, sir. Although I still believe that theirs are the actions of cowards, scum unworthy of wearing the Leaf on a forehead protector.”

“Strong words for you, Kakashi.”

“The boy can hardly make cup ramen without injuring himself, he can barely read, and he lives in filth. He needs real supervision.”

“I was in time to stop his first caretaker before she drove the knife through his heart,” the Hokage said casually, as though recalling a particularly temperate summer’s day from long ago. “Only just, of course, but I was in time. Naruto was a little over a year old, then, and he’d just started trying to walk when he got his first bad scrape by falling and hitting a table. Naturally, that was the first time his ability to heal wounds quickly made an appearance. The poor woman went mad with fright, convinced that he was the demon and not a baby at all, so she tried to kill him.”

“Sir, with all due respect—“

“His second caretaker was more subtle, but more subversive. I believe it was always her plan to do away with him, but she starved him slowly and it took me almost six months to realize that he wasn’t being well treated. After that, I decided that he was better off on his own.”

“Then you chose the wrong two caretakers, but he needs someone. He is not being well treated now, sir.”

“I can’t Kakashi.” There seemed to be real regret in the Hokage’s eyes. “If he were normal, my wife and I would have taken him in the moment Kushina left us, but there is already talk. My advisors say that I am compromised, that I am too close to the child to do what is necessary if the Demon becomes unleashed. It is nonsense of course, but it undermines my position as Hokage at a time when the village can ill afford weakness.”

Furious, Kakashi curled his fingers into the desk, splintering the wood. “I am twenty one years old—perfectly capable of marrying and having a dozen children if I choose—and have been a jounin for ten years. My current duties may not allow for family, but I have been ANBU for twice the usual length. I do not believe Minato-sensei would object to me leaving service under these circumstances. What precisely would I need to do to prove myself capable of keeping a child alive?”

The Hokage’s eyes shot wide and his jaw went completely slack for just a moment. “I did not think it was a duty you would want,” the old man said, gathering his wits. “You have never cared for children, even when you were one.”

“Duty isn’t something you want,” Kakashi snarled. “When my father died, the Fourth Hokage…” Kakashi stopped, straightening his spine to take advantage of his full height. The Third Lord wouldn’t be convinced by an emotional outpouring. “Anyway. To see what is right and not act goes directly against his legacy and leaving his only son to suffer is something I cannot do.”

“You honestly want to adopt Naruto?”

Rocking backward, Kakashi prevaricated. “Naruto has a father. I’ll foster the boy until he makes it through the academy when a proper jounin Sensei can take him on as a student.”

The Hokage looked at him shrewdly. “Adoption might be the only way. People are very concerned about who influences the jinchuriki and how.”

“Wouldn’t I theoretically have a greater influence over a boy I adopted than one I was fostering.”

“An adoption would give you legal standing if anyone tried to take him away at a time when I lacked the political clout to stop it.” 

Kakashi thought for a few moments before nodding. “Fine, I’ll adopt him. It’s a piece of paper. He won’t need to call me Father.”

“I haven’t agreed, yet, Kakashi.”

Gritting his teeth Kakashi folded his hands behind his back and looked the Hokage in the eye, waiting for his decision. Everything had a price, and Kakashi expected that this choice would be no different.

“Surely it goes without saying that the law regarding no one speaking of Naruto’s true parentage or nature would remain in effect.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Hokage studied Kakashi’s face carefully. “You understand that there are many powerful shinobi, any one of whom would be a challenge for either you or I to defeat, that hated Minato and would kill his son simply out of revenge.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And you understand as well that any proof that you are anything less than an exemplary, law abiding shinobi could be used to take Naruto away from you, adoption or not.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Hokage sighed. “Then there is the matter of your ANBU work. Whether or not you adopt Naruto officially, having a foster child is considered a close enough connection to endanger a Black Ops shinobi. You would have to quit.”

“I understand, sir, but I believe that I can serve the village well in my capacity as a jounin.”

“Where would you live? Your apartment is hardly any bigger than Naruto’s. Neither one is big enough for two.”

“I will reopen the Hatake Compound,” Kakashi said, as though it would be a simple matter. As though it had been less than a year since the last time he even walked past the place.

“Naruto’s stipend—“

“Won’t be necessary. I have enough saved to support a child for years, and I intend to continue to accept paying missions.”

“I will consider the matter,” the Hokage said, but he was not referring to the money. “Bring Naruto to see me at one o’clock tomorrow. We will establish a course of action then.”

It went without saying that Kakashi’s usual lack of punctuality would not be appropriate in this case. Further implied was the fact that if Naruto would not willingly accompany Kakashi on a small trip without an explanation, Kakashi was not fit to be the boy’s guardian. A small enough challenge considering what was at stake.

“Understood, sir.” Kakashi said. He didn’t like it, but he was capable of playing politics when needed. Taking his ANBU mask out from under his chest plate where he had it hidden, he placed it on the Hokage’s desk.

“That may not be necessary, Kakashi,” the Third Lord said with the hint of a question.

It was Kakashi’s turn to look at the old man through a narrow, calculating eye. “I would not want my value as an ANBU operative to influence your decision, Lord Hokage. Whether or not you allow Naruto to stay with me, I quit. Itachi is young, but he would make a good captain. So would Tenzo, if you want my recommendation.” 

The Hokage smiled with genuine pleasure. “As you said, you have already completed twice the usual length of service. I know you’re serious about taking care of Naruto, Kakashi, and I know you are a good shinobi. I just need to be sure that this is what is best for both of you.”

“It is,” Kakashi said confidently, waiting to be dismissed.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” the Hokage said, waving him away with one hand.

Showing the Hokage nothing but certainty with his actions and his posture was easy enough. Kakashi spun on his heel and left the office with a confident stride. To be safe, he didn’t break down until he was inside his apartment with the shutters closed and his barrier jutsu raised. Only then did he slump against the wall breathing hard and imagining all of the ways that a plan like this one could turn sour.

Everyone Kakashi cared about died a horrible death. Death was the immutable law of the universe. His mother had been lost when he was only a baby. His father’s dishonorable suicide was a matter of public record. Obito had given his life for Kakashi, and Rin had given her life to protect the village. They had been Kakashi’s only real friends. And his teacher—the one person that Kakashi had respected, loved, and admired more than anyone else in the world—had died to seal a demon inside of Naruto. In the end, Kakashi was really only giving his life for the village day by day until he too finally died in a meaningful way, one that would make up for his failure to protect Rin and allow him to face Obito in the afterlife. Only a truly spectacular death could redeem garbage like him.

For five years Kakashi had hidden behind his ANBU mask to keep from feeling that pain again. To invite a child into his life was to invite disaster. Probably for the boy as well. He knew nothing about ordinary children. The Hokage wasn’t wrong when he said Kakashi had avoided them even when he was one. Living with a child meant offering emotional guidance, not just keeping it alive. Kakashi would need to teach morality, not just chakra molding. He would need to make sure that the cruelty of those around him didn’t turn Naruto’s loneliness to hatred. The only way to do that was to show kindness, but he had no practical experience with that. The few people he’d managed to become close to had always handled the emotional side of things for him. He had never needed to go out of his way to demonstrate affection.

Yet that was what Obito had always wanted from Kakashi, proof that people were important to him. Rin, too, though she was more specific that the person important to Kakashi ought to be her. Even Minato-sensei had always argued that his desire to protect the people he cared about was the source of his greatest strength. Perhaps it was, at that. With a yellow flash, Minato-sensei had sealed away the Nine Tails that somehow escaped from within his wife, killing her in the process. In all of history, only the First Hokage, the Sage of Six Paths, and Madara Uchiha were ever able to control the thing.

Strange then that Kakashi wasn’t at all worried about inviting the Nine Tailed Fox into his home. Naruto wasn’t the demon sealed within his belly, and the demon sealed within Naruto wasn’t the danger that terrified Kakashi. For all of his hardship and loneliness, Naruto seemed to be a perfectly normal five-year-old. Kakashi would need to care for him, not just take care of him. That prospect was far more frightening than any threat to life or limb, because it was a mission where none of his skills would apply.

Slapping the wall hard enough to crack the plaster a little, Kakashi dropped to the floor and began doing one armed pushups. One thing was clear: no one else could be trusted to protect the boy. For all that Kakashi vowed never to lose a comrade on a mission, he’d let his training become nothing more than the standard ANBU drills supplemented by an occasional spar with a friend. Coasting on Obito’s sacrifice, he hadn’t developed an original jutsu in years. That was no longer acceptable.


	3. Chapter 3

Minato-sensei always taught that to begin a difficult task one should only need to decide that it was necessary. It wasn’t easy for Kakashi to lean against Naruto’s doorbell at ten o’clock in the morning with his bag of groceries, but he’d managed to decide the night before that he could care for the child without harming him any more than Naruto already suffered in his neglected state. Of course he’d dreamed of Rin’s face in the fitful hour of sleep he managed to squeeze in before dawn, but that wasn’t unusual. Kakashi was garbage, but he was the only one who understood what was necessary. No one else seemed to have any desire to help the boy, which meant the task was Kakashi’s or it would not be done.

Slamming the door open eagerly, Naruto burst out onto the porch. He didn’t bother to say hello, just looked around Kakashi, scuttling between the jounin’s legs, shoving him out of the way, and finally searching over the side of the balcony.

“Hey, Mister, did you see the guy who rang my doorbell?”

“That would be me,” Kakashi said, bemused.

“Oh.” Naruto scowled. “What do you want? I’m waiting for someone you know.”

“Well, I was hoping you might invite me in.”

Looking torn, Naruto hesitated a moment at the door and then said, “Please come in.”

Kakashi laughed inwardly as he entered the apartment, but he immediately noticed the change. All of the clothes had been picked up and messily shoved into a laundry hamper. Naruto’s bed was made. His dishes were clean, or at least drying on the drain board. One glass was missing—presumably broken. Even the practice papers were neatly piled with the books underneath Naruto’s nightstand where they would be out of the way.

Kakashi set his grocery bag on Naruto’s small table and pulled open the little refrigerator. Seizing the expired milk, he dumped the lumpy sour mess down the sink and tossed the carton over his shoulder into the garbage.

“Hey!” Naruto shouted. “What are you doing? You can’t just walk into someone’s house and throw their things away.”

“It was expired,” Kakashi said, effortlessly dodging Naruto’s attempt to grab his legs. “Look, I brought you a replacement.” Lifting the new carton out of the grocery bag, he pressed it into Naruto’s hands, sticking an apple in the boy’s mouth at the same time. “You need to eat better.”

Naruto put the milk down and snapped the apple from his mouth, angrily chewing at the bite he’d been forced to take. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“Whom were you waiting for?” Kakashi countered.

“My friend, Mister ANBU.”

“That’s a silly name.”

“Yeah, well, your name is stupider.”

“You don’t even know my name.”

“So what’s your name then? I bet it’s stupid.”

“Kakashi Hatake. I don’t think you really know your friend’s name, either, Naruto.”

“I told you, it’s Mister ANBU, dummy!”

“ANBU is a job title—like Hokage—no parent would ever name their child that.”

“What?”

“ANBU can be pretty impressive shinobi, of course, but a secret job like that has its drawbacks. They have to wear those white masks all of the time when they’re on duty. They can never let anyone know who is behind the mask. I don’t see how one of them could have a friend.”

Tears began to well in Naruto’s enormous blue eyes, which was exactly what Kakashi had been hoping to avoid by affecting an aggressive and annoying persona.

“He is too my friend, and he’s coming back today, you know! He promised!”

“Whoa, hey.” Kakashi took a knee so that he could put a hand on Naruto’s shoulder, consciously mimicking his exact posture from the night before. “I’m sure he is your friend, Naruto. I’m sure he’s keeping his promise, but an ANBU couldn’t run a personal errand in his black ops gear. That’s all I’m saying.”

“I don’t understand,” Naruto said miserably. “Will he come or not? I’ve been waiting for a really long time.”

“Naruto, listen to me. I am telling you that it would be illegal for your friend to show up here and say something like, ‘My name is Kakashi Hatake and I am the ANBU that you met last night.’”

Staring at Kakashi with wide eyes, Naruto said, “Your hair is gray.”

Not what Kakashi had been expecting, but he went with it. “I’d call it silver, but sure.”

“And you’re really tall—taller than the shopkeeper even.”

“I suppose there’s a compliment in there somewhere.”

“Are you my friend?”

“I am, yes, or I would very much like to be.”

“Oh,” Naruto blushed. “I didn’t know about ANBU. Is that why you’re still wearing a mask today?”

“What you mean this thing?” Kakashi gestured to the black cloth mask covering the lower half of his face. “This hardly counts as a mask. It isn’t to hide my identity, I just think it makes me look cool.”

Naruto boggled at him.

“What? You don’t think it makes me look cool? See if I fix you lunch now.”

Naruto laughed uncertainly. “You were different last night.”

“And I’ll be different tomorrow,” Kakashi agreed seriously. “I won’t always be nice to you, and I’m notoriously terrible with small children.”

“I’m a big kid,” Naruto protested. “I can do everything all by myself. I don’t need anyone to be nice to me.”

“Glad to hear it.” Kakashi pulled Naruto’s rice cooker from the cabinet and made himself at home in the tiny kitchenette. “You can peel the carrots.”

Naruto took the vegetables over to his little trashcan and started scraping at them with a kunai. From the way those big blue eyes darted up to Kakashi far more often than they looked at the sharp tool, he could tell that he had confused the boy. Well, that had been his intent. If adoption was the only way that Kakashi could be legally present in Naruto’s life then he would pursue that route, but the Third Hokage would likely offer Naruto a choice. The boy deserved to make that choice armed with some information beyond his own loneliness and the fact that Kakashi had once managed to be in the right place at the right time.

Compared to Kakashi’s entrance, lunch was a subdued affair. Naruto picked at his vegetables and outright refused to eat his daikon. Working out a way to make healthy food palatable to the boy could wait until after the meeting with the Hokage. Kakashi didn’t nag Naruto about finishing his food. Instead, he cleaned up the kitchen like a good guest and offered his host his friendliest smile.

“Do you want to play ninja with me?” asked Naruto hesitantly. “I don’t have any games, but sometimes, at the park, kids play ninja. You don’t need any special toys for it, you just have to hide, so we could play right now if you wanted to.”

“I would love to play ninja with you, Naruto.” Kakashi injected a little extra warmth into his voice so that the boy would be certain to pick up on it. “I am a fully fledged ninja, though. So to make it fair we should have a rule that no one can hide more than one block away from your apartment.”

“Okay!” Naruto threw his hands in the air, jumping nearly twice his own height. “I’ll hide first. No. You hide first. No, I’ll hide first, but you have to promise to look for me.”

“That’s the point of the game, isn’t it?” Kakashi feigned puzzlement, but he could easily imagine cruel older children ordering Naruto to hide and then never bothering to look for him. “I warn you, Naruto, I don’t intend to lose.”

“Okay,” Naruto agreed, laughing happily. “But remember, if you get caught by my trap, you still have to be it.”

“I understand,” Kakashi said gravely. Although he had never actually played the game as a child, he doubted that anyone grew up in Leaf Village without learning the rules. When Naruto ordered him to close his eyes and count to fifty, he obeyed, ticking the numbers off as slowly and loudly as he could.

Of course he could still hear the boy clambering out of the window and stomping up to the roof. The loose tiles up there were a concern, but Kakashi was fast enough to catch him if he slipped, and it was a good, brave hiding place. Kakashi rewarded the choice by narrating his movements as he pretended to search. No true shinobi would ever do so, but Kakashi had observed many parents playing the game in such a way with their children.

“Well, Naruto, you are terrible at hiding. I can clearly see that you are under this bed! No? Not under the bed? Then you must be in these cabinets! Huh. I know! You’re behind the table!” Kakashi could hear Naruto choking down giggles from his position on the roof. “I would have heard the door open if he’d gone outside,” Kakashi reasoned, “but wait! The window is open!”

Slipping out the window and flipping up to the roof, Kakashi could easily see Naruto half hidden behind the chimney and shaking with mirth, but he pretended to survey the scene. The bright sun glinted on the steel duct, the only object on the roof anywhere near large enough to hide a boy. “Now, I know Naruto must be out here somewhere, because he wasn’t in the apartment, but where could he be?” Admiring the boy’s restraint, Kakashi took a few steps toward the chimney. Naruto unleashed his trap.

Perhaps for the sake of building the boy’s confidence and getting another laugh, Kakashi should have allowed the little stones to hit him. It was a good trap, well sprung, and if the small rocks that slingshot toward him when Naruto tripped the wire had been shuriken they might even have slowed a real opponent down. Unfortunately, Kakashi couldn’t resist impressing him a little. Bending back so far that his hair brushed the tiled roof, Kakashi watched the pebbles sail over him harmlessly.

“What!” Naruto leapt out of his hiding place to start running, but Kakashi took two steps and caught him easily, tossing him into the air.

“I’ve got you,” Kakashi declared, spinning the boy in disorienting circles before depositing the laughing child back down on the roof.

“Again, please, again!” Naruto held his arms up pleadingly, so Kakashi whipped him around once more. That was hardly enough for the kid. Conceding a dozen more times made Kakashi feel a little bit like the ride at a school fair, but Naruto’s laugh was happy and carefree. Kakashi didn’t want to stop either.

“No,” he said finally, standing firm. “It’s getting late, Naruto, I have to go.”

“Yeah, yeah! You go hide next.”

“No, Naruto, I have to go to meet the Hokage. I have an important appointment.”

“Can you come back tomorrow?” Naruto’s lower lip trembled, but no tears were threatening in his eyes. He was a strong boy.

“Can and will,” Kakashi promised. Not even a direct order to the contrary could keep him from checking on Naruto from time to time now that he was aware of the problem, and he highly doubted that the Third Hokage would issue such an order without a serious reason. “But me needing to go doesn’t mean we have to part. You could come with me to see the Hokage. If you’re good, I’ll treat you to some Ichiraku Ramen for dinner tonight.”

“Really?” It wasn’t clear which prospect excited Naruto more, not having to say goodbye or going to a real ramen stand for dinner instead of eating out of a package. “All right! Let’s go see the Old Man!”

If the Hokage’s mansion was one of the few unapologetic bastions of wakeful activity during the quiet village nights, during the day it was a hub of bustling shinobi. Kakashi kept a close eye on Naruto in case the boy tried to wander off, but it wasn’t necessary. Wide eyed and curious, the boy started toward other ninja a half dozen times to see what they were carrying or to try to inspect their strange weapons, but he always turned back to bump against Kakashi’s legs at the last second. Kakashi was positive that this had more to do with Naruto’s idea of being good than any innate shyness or respect for boundaries.

Naruto continued to stand quietly at Kakashi’s side while the Hokage made them wait almost an hour for admittance. It was a test, of course, and Kakashi coolly pretended to read his book while cursing himself inwardly for not bringing something similar for Naruto. Proving that he didn’t need to understand a test to pass it, though, the boy just fidgeted quietly, looking up at Kakashi frequently. Kakashi made sure to catch his eye and smile on every third or fourth glance, reinforcing the rule of silence with the only reward he had on hand.

Finally, the Hokage’s aide admitted them. The room had been rearranged slightly to intimidate. All seating had been removed from the chamber except the expensive leather chair behind the broad wooden desk. Both desk and chair were raised so not only were visitors forced to stand, they still felt dwarfed by the Hokage who was sitting in front of a bright wall of windows, the sunlight casting deep shadows across his face.

Kakashi was experienced enough to recognize all of this posturing for what it was and dismiss it out of hand, but he could see it affecting Naruto. That put him on the defensive. Either this setup was left over from an earlier meeting and Kakashi was being paranoid, or the point of the scene was to intimidate Naruto. Kakashi believed in his heart that paranoid shinobi lived longer.

“Well, Naruto,” the Hokage drawled, blowing out a little smoke from his cigarette. “Kakashi has clearly told you about his desire to adopt you.”

Kakashi didn’t flinch. If the Hokage thought he could surprise a denial out of a jounin, then he didn’t deserve to be the Hokage.

“What’s adopt?” Naruto asked curiously, looking from the Third Lord to Kakashi.

Surprise flickered across the Hokage’s face at the question, brief and almost imperceptible, but it was there. Maybe the opening gambit had actually been based on a real assumption about Kakashi’s behavior. That would explain why the Hokage didn’t answer Naruto’s question and instead posed one of his own. “What did Kakashi promise you if you stayed quiet while you waited?”

Squirming, Naruto looked to the jounin for guidance. Kakashi nodded and gestured for him to answer the question truthfully. Clearly the boy felt that they were in trouble, which was unsurprising given that the Hokage’s every action was carefully measured to give him that impression.

“He’s going to treat me to Ichiraku for dinner,” Naruto admitted. “But I would have been good anyway,” he added hastily. “I’m always good—mostly.” Those big blue eyes willed Kakashi to believe, and he did. Good had variable definitions.

“I am sure that is why you were expelled from the preschool.”

Blood drained from Naruto’s face and he turned white, glancing nervously up at Kakashi without meeting the man’s eyes. “I didn’t do it. I just made a mess. I didn’t start the fire, I swear, but no one believes me.”

“I believe you,” Kakashi said, smiling warmly. He had no idea that there had even been an incident, but it mattered little even if Naruto had been at fault. It explained why a boy with average abilities would have stopped attending the school before he really knew how to read and write.

“I was planning to order the school to take you back,” the Hokage said mildly, “but it would seem that there is an alternative to forcing them to make room for you where you aren’t wanted.”

Kakashi could see three obvious explanations for the Hokage’s behavior. The first and most generous was that this was a show for the inevitable spies who were always watching a man in the Third Lord’s position. His critics could hardly accuse him of caring too much about Naruto when he treated the boy this way, which would free him to defend Naruto when it really mattered.

The second potential reason, crueler and more calculating, was to reinforce the idea of the Hokage’s power in the impressionable young jinchuriki’s mind. If there came a time when Naruto lost control and became a danger to the village, having the boy subconsciously believe that the old professor really was supremely powerful could be enough to make a real difference in the outcome of that fight. Of course, instilling fear in a child purely for the sake of making a little boy afraid was morally reprehensible, but Kakashi had been ANBU for long enough not to be idealistic about that sort of thing. The Third Lord had a moral code when it was possible, but he ordered plenty of immoral acts. 

The final motive that Kakashi could imagine attributing the Third’s behavior to was equally manipulative, but not quite as cruel. By setting himself up as a common enemy, the Hokage could foster feelings of companionship between Naruto and Kakashi. That would be misguided, though. Kakashi didn’t think that manipulating the boy that way was necessary. All it really did was create distance between his interests and those of the Hokage—and by extension Leaf Village.

“I’ll take responsibility for his education,” Kakashi said firmly, cementing himself as Naruto’s ally whether or not that was the Hokage’s intent.

“You’re a teacher?” Naruto looked confused. “I thought you were a secret.”

Glad that his mask hid the smile that twitched across his lips, Kakashi found that he couldn’t think of anything a shinobi would rather be called. He also couldn’t think of a better way to announce to a room that he was a member of ANBU.

“I used to work classified operations,” he agreed casually, “but I quit. What do you think, Lord Hokage? Should I take a position at the Academy?”

“You’ll remain a jounin on active duty and you’ll receive missions appropriate to your tenure and skill set,” the Third Lord said, cutting the joke down before it had a chance to play. That was fine with Kakashi. He preferred a nice clean assassination to running herd around a group of irrational midgets any day of the week.

“And Naruto?”

“As his guardian, you will be responsible for his education. It will be your choice to shoulder the burden alone or convince the preschool to take their most disruptive pupil back.”

“We’ll discuss it together,” Kakashi said. “I’ll need to observe the situation at the school before anything is decided.”

The flicker of approval in the Hokage’s eye was enough to suggest that the man’s motives might be kind underneath everything. Kakashi wanted to believe at least that much about the man he was sworn to serve.

“Guardian?” Naruto asked. “I know I got into trouble last night, but I’m a tough guy,” he told Kakashi earnestly. “I don’t need someone to protect me all the time.”

“Even the best shinobi are better off working as a team,” Kakashi said with a disinterested shrug. “I know that I could use a friend to watch my back, but the choice is yours, of course.”

“Friends? I mean, yeah, we’re friends! I just don’t really understand, you know.”

The Hokage cleared his throat. “I am granting Kakashi’s petition to adopt you.”

“I don’t—“

“Naruto,” Kakashi said, kneeling down next to the boy and ignoring his suddenly unsettled stomach. The Third would hardly revoke his decision now over something as trivial as a minor lapse in Kakashi’s professionalism. “I don’t like living alone,” the jounin lied. “Why don’t you come live with me? I promise to do all of the cooking, except when I have to leave the village for a mission.”

“Really?” Naruto’s excitement was palpable—the boy was practically vibrating out of his skin. Watching him try to rein his feelings in enough to attempt to see a downside in the offer was amusing and a good reminder that he was nothing at all like the boy Kakashi had been at the same age. “But it will only be for a little while?”

“It will be a pretty long time,” Kakashi corrected gently. “You’ll live with me until you’re a grown up, if adopt you.”

“And then—I still don’t know what adopt is, you know.”

“It means you would officially be a member of Kakashi’s family and no one could separate you.”

“So you would be, like, my dad?”

“No.” Kakashi knew that it was the wrong thing to say before his mouth even closed around the syllable. Naruto’s face collapsed, and he couldn’t exactly explain that Naruto already had a father. It was illegal to tell the boy that his father was the greatest, kindest, most virtuous shinobi to ever lead Leaf Village, not scum like Kakashi. Moreover, to immediately go against the Hokage’s wishes would probably shorten the length of Kakashi’s guardianship somewhat. “I’m way too young and handsome to have a kid your age,” Kakashi joked easily. “Let’s go with older brother.”

“You’ll be my brother? Really?” The boy’s smile was brighter than the dawn. 

“I suppose I always was,” Kakashi said, suddenly feeling the weight of inevitability.

“Barring any legal infractions,” The Hokage said seriously.

“What do you mean?” Naruto’s voice was indignant, and his little eyes screwed up to glare at the Hokage. “You said that Kakashi wants me to be his little brother and I can be that, you know.”

“Perhaps Kakashi will decide that he doesn’t want the responsibility,” the Hokage said threateningly.

“He will,” Naruto said frantically. “I’ll be good,” he promised. “I’m really good. Really.”

“Or maybe you won’t want to stay with him,” the old man continued. “Kakashi has many enemies. You’ll be in more danger as a member of his family than you are as a war orphan living alone.”

“I don’t care,” Naruto said. “I’m really tough!”

“And maybe I’ll decide that you would be better off as you are now, or that Kakashi is an unfit guardian,” he finished.

“You can’t do that!”

“Naruto,” Kakashi said, putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder to settle him. “One day at a time. If you want, we can start living together as a family now, right? So we’ll do that, we’ll both be good, and tomorrow will take care of itself.”

With Naruto’s agreement, the only task that remained to make Kakashi’s guardianship official was a great deal of paperwork. Kakashi took a solid fifteen minutes to read through the hundred and twenty-three pages of legalese carefully. Most of it dealt with standards of treatment that Kakashi diplomatically refrained from pointing out were not being met by Naruto’s current living arrangements. He quickly initialed those pages, confident that he could provide Naruto with three meals a day, adequate shelter as delineated by Village regulations, and sufficient resources for health and hygiene.

Signing away Naruto’s stipend was the easiest thing in the world. The sum Naruto received was less than Kakashi spent on custom ninja tools in a month. It was almost insulting that the Fourth Hokage’s son was expected to live on so little, but Minato-sensei had never cared much about material things. Still, it was a symbol of the offensive neglect that Naruto was accustomed to. Kakashi did take a little pleasure in promising to provide for the boy out of his own funds. Since the job was his now, one way or another, he would do it properly.

The only portion of the paperwork that actually gave Kakashi pause came at the end. In order to gain guardianship of Naruto legally, he needed to agree that if village authorities terminated his guardianship he would relinquish all rights of association. A careful reading of those pages indicated that even casual visits might be difficult. Not that Kakashi was the sort of scum who wouldn’t break a rule to see a friend, but to ignore regulations would be to act against the village. That was very clearly stated in the papers.

Taking the advice he’d given Naruto only minutes before, Kakashi signed the documents. If problems arose, he would deal with them.

“That’s it, then,” The Hokage said cheerfully as Kakashi handed back the forms. “Congratulations. It’s a boy.”

Matters like legal guardianship of a child—especially a jinchuriki—were rarely settled in a single day. It was even more unusual for the Hokage himself to deal with the minutia of living arrangements and the family life of villagers. That suggested the old man really did have Naruto’s best interests at heart, but politics prevented him from openly displaying it.

“So we’re a family now?” Naruto asked eagerly.

“In a way,” Kakashi answered carefully. “All of this just means that you can come live with me.”

“Today, though, right? Do you have a house? Can I bring my coloring book? Can we see it before we go to ramen?”

“Yes, I have a house. Yes, you can bring all of your possessions; there is plenty of room. Since it isn’t even three o’clock yet, I suspect that we have more than enough time before dinner to take a look at things and see what needs to be done to the house before we can move in. That is, if the Hokage is willing to dismiss us.”

“One more thing, Kakashi.”

“Sir?”

“Take three weeks.” The Hokage’s demeanor was still absolutely reserved, showing no real attachment to either of the Fourth Hokage’s legacies. “The Village has not been commissioning you for general jounin missions lately. You will not be missed if you wait three weeks to report for your next one.”

“I appreciate the time, sir, but I doubt that much will be necessary.”

“This isn’t an order, just advice from a father and grandfather. I’d tell you to take three months if I thought you would listen. Take the time to get your house in order and establish a routine. With that, the rest will fall into place.”

A genuine smile crossed Kakashi’s face and he didn’t bother to hide it beyond what his mask kept private. Somehow he doubted that things would be quite so simple, but he was capable of handling the inevitable difficulty. He was a shinobi of the Leaf and a disciple of the Fourth Hokage. “Thank you for the advice, sir.”

“Dismissed.”


	4. Chapter 4

The house Kakashi had grown up in looked even worse in the daylight than it had the night before. Kakashi stared at the broken door, crumbling garden wall, and splintered porch, wondering if bringing Naruto here before at least starting some of the repairs was a mistake from which he could ever recover.

“It’s so big,” Naruto said with wide, awestruck eyes. “Are you rich?”

Kakashi smiled in relief. “I do my job well.”

“I think Choji is rich,” Naruto said absently, crouching down to poke one of the thistles growing around the gate. “He always has snacks. And when he runs out of snacks, he even has money to buy candy. Look, I found a worm!”

“It’s a caterpillar,” Kakashi corrected, gently accepting the little insect and placing it carefully back on one of the weed’s broader leaves. “When it grows up, it will turn into a butterfly.”

Naruto laughed. “You’re silly. Butterflies have wings. They aren’t worms. Even I know that.”

“A creature can have many shapes without changing what it is, Naruto.”

Naruto squinted at him. “Prove it.”

Kakashi grinned and performed a simple transformation technique, copying Naruto perfectly from his whiskers down to the dirt on his little blue sandals. “I look like you, but I’m still me, you know?”

“Wow!” Naruto stared in surprise. Then he started applauding, clapping his hands joyfully. “That’s really awesome ninjutsu! You even sound like me, you know.”

“Some people call me the Copy Ninja, because this is sort of a specialty of mine,” Kakashi explained, releasing the jutsu and returning to his own form. “Unfortunately, there’s no time to play right now. We need to work on getting this house into shape or I’ll be sleeping on the floor of your apartment tonight.”

Naruto laughed. It was something of a joke. Kakashi had yet to break the lease on his own apartment. There was no real need for the two of them to begin cohabiting immediately. After living alone for years, Naruto could probably handle one more night. He would have to when Kakashi started taking missions again, but delaying would be a mistake. His father’s house was too big, run down, and full of bad memories. If he found a reason to avoid sleeping there on the first night, he could find a thousand more in the following weeks. Even with the boy distracting him, Kakashi could probably make at least a few rooms habitable enough to sleep in right away.

Expecting the five year old to be ultimately unhelpful led to a pleasant surprise. Naruto didn’t see anything about the house that needed to be fixed or cleaned, but he didn’t complain about being asked to help either. Kakashi handed him a broom mostly just to keep him entertained while he went to fix the broken door and other exterior damage that was making the house drafty. However, when he came back inside, Kakashi found every room in the house well swept and the dustbin completely full.

“I used to get extra chores a lot at school,” Naruto said proudly, folding his arms behind his head. “I’m number one at cleaning, you know!”

Kakashi didn’t comment. “Do you think that you could scrub them, too?”

Naruto nodded happily, so Kakashi found him soap and a bucket while he went up to replace a few of the cracked clay tiles on the roof. Then he and Naruto collected the dusty linens to toss in the washing machine, pulled out enough tatami mats for one room, and set up two futons.

By the time they finished what Kakashi considered the bare minimum necessary to make the house a place where Naruto could properly spend the night, the sun was setting and Naruto’s stomach had growled audibly four times. The boy hadn’t said a word about it. He didn’t mention promises, even though he chattered away about how nice Kakashi’s things were and what a big strong shinobi he was going to grow up to be. He didn’t even look at Kakashi hopefully the way a puppy would have. No, Naruto was still looking at Kakashi like he might disappear any second. Only consistency would prove otherwise.

“Ready for some dinner?”

Naruto whooped his agreement, dancing happily in a circle. Herding the boy to the bathroom, Kakashi realized that they would have a great deal of repair work to do over several days to make the house truly liveable.

After dinner, where Naruto managed to eat two very full bowls despite weighing all of forty pounds, they gathered what Naruto would need for the night from the boy’s apartment. Naruto seemed to think that was two books and a toy kunai, not his toothbrush or pajamas. Still, he was very cooperative. It wasn’t long before the two of them were settling in for a night on the floor.

“You’ll have your own room,” Kakashi promised, staring at the cobwebs on the ceiling. “With a bed and everything.” 

“Okay,” Naruto said with a loud yawn. He didn’t seem to care. Kakashi continued anyway.

“I’m sorry about this. If you want to spend the night back at your apartment, we can. This place is a dump. It isn’t ready yet.”

“I’m sleepy,” said Naruto, sounding exactly the opposite. Suddenly there was a strange alertness in his voice. “Can’t I stay here?”

“Might as well, I guess,” Kakashi said, hoping a casual answer would relax the boy. It had been self indulgent to give voice to his doubts. The last thing he wanted was to alarm the boy. “Sweet dreams, Naruto.”

It wasn’t good enough. Kakashi could feel the boy’s eyes on him as he lay still, trying to lead by example. Vibrating with nervous energy, Naruto didn’t choose to follow that lead. If anything, the boy was working himself up even more, but Kakashi wasn’t sure how to calm him.

“I don’t understand,” he whispered at last, giving Kakashi the opening he needed.

“What is it that you don’t understand?”

“Why I’m here. Why do you want to be my friend when everyone else always looks at me like I’m bad?”

“Are you bad?”

“No! I’m not! I can be good, you know.” The poor kid was practically in tears.

“Then why wouldn’t I want to be your friend?”

“You can be someone’s friend without buying them ramen and taking them to see Old Man and writing on lots of papers to be brothers and letting them sleepover always, you know.”

“That’s true. I suppose I’ve never been very good at doing things the normal way.” Kakashi watched a fat brown spider diligently adding to her web, unaware of her imminent eviction. “The truth is, I’ve never had many people I care about, and all of them are dead. So now, when I realize that something matters to me, I try not to waste a lot of time. I like you, Naruto, and you deserve a better life than the one fate handed you. I’d like to help you have that life.”

“But why?”

“Why not? The Fourth Hokage’s teaching was that a man who knows what is right must act accordingly. As the master, so the man.”

“The Fourth Hokage?”

“I’ll tell you a story about him if you promise to go to sleep.”

“Okay.”

“When the Fourth Hokage was a very little boy almost younger than you, his mother had a big porcelain vase,” Kakashi began, pitching his voice low and quiet. Obito had missed the point of this story when Minato-sensei told it, while Kakashi had immediately guessed the lesson. Of the three of them, Rin had always been the best student, really. Kakashi wondered if Naruto would understand.

“One day, the Fourth Hokage accidentally knocked the vase off of its stand and it broke into three pieces. Because he was a clever boy and didn’t want his mother to be upset, the Fourth Hokage thought he could fix the break before she came home. He found some clear tape and put the vase back together carefully.” Looking at Naruto, Kakashi could see that both of the boy’s eyes were still wide open and watching him. Kakashi turned back to the ceiling and continued.

“When his mother came home, she saw the vase. At first glance, she hardly noticed a problem, but then she looked closer. Without even looking at her son, she wordlessly peeled the tape off and left the pieces of the vase sitting on the table. The Fourth Hokage would have to find another way to fix what he had broken.”

Naruto sniffled a little and curled into his pillow, pulling his blanket higher across his shoulders. Kakashi paused, but the boy wasn’t quite asleep. His eyes blinked slowly open, watching Kakashi absently.

“The Fourth Hokage tried again to fix his mother’s vase, this time with glue. Fitting the pieces together carefully, he glued them so there was no outward sign that the vase had ever been broken. When his mother came home and saw the vase, she tapped it hard against the table. In the weak places where it had been glued, it once again fell to pieces. Knowing that he could not fix what he had broken alone, the Fourth Hokage gathered all of his money and took the vase to a smith who made ninja tools. Following the Fourth Hokage’s explicit instructions, the smith repaired the vase using real gold. When his mother came home, the Fourth Hokage quickly explained how sorry he was, but that the vase was now stronger and more beautiful than when he broke it, even if it was not exactly as it had been. His mother smiled at him sadly and agreed that this was so. ‘But,’ she said, ‘You never needed the gold to fix it, my son. The repair happened when you apologized.’”

Naruto was fast asleep, snoring lightly. The comparison between a vase and a family was probably beyond the boy anyway. Exaggerating to comfort him was pointless. What they would have could never be akin to what Naruto would have had with his parents. If Kakashi could keep him safe and well, imparting the lessons of the Fourth Hokage through bedtime stories and as a teacher, then that would have to be enough. That would have to be worthy of the memory of his friends. It didn’t stop him from seeing Rin’s dying face in his dreams.

Feeling guilty that Naruto’s first full day under Kakashi’s guardianship was spent cleaning the bathroom, moving all of their combined earthly possessions, sitting on Kakashi’s shoulders to dust high corners, and varnishing the new porch, Kakashi recommended that Naruto take a trip to the park to spend the afternoon playing. Kakashi needed to do a lot of shopping and demolishing the garden wall so that he could rebuild it from scratch with his earth style jutsu had exhausted him. They both needed a break, even if Kakashi’s break was going to be spent hauling necessities home from various village stores.

When he initially closed the house to move to an apartment shortly after the Fourth Hokage’s death, Kakashi had thrown open its doors and given almost everything that could be carried away. He would have given the house itself away as well, but that felt too much like betraying Obito and his father. Though he didn’t want the reminders of his childhood, he hadn’t quite been able to walk away from everything. So Kakashi had futons and tatami, but not cushions or a table. He had a kitchen counter with no stools. From his apartment he had tea sets and dishes, but only one pot to cook in.

Naruto wasn’t excited about going to the park. Insisting that he could be helpful shopping for furniture and carrying bags, the boy begged Kakashi to spend the day with him. Clearly he was still worried that Kakashi might not come back if he left. That made the separation a necessity, not a kindness, though Kakashi honestly believed that the boy would have more fun relaxing at the park than doing strenuous chores for a third day running.

“I’ll be back before sundown,” he said, trying to soothe the child’s nerves.

“Promise? Really promise?”

“I promise. Now go have fun with your friends.”

Naruto smiled weakly up at him and walked slowly toward the swing set, checking over his shoulder frequently to see if Kakashi was still there watching him. Finally, Kakashi decided it would be best to make a clean break and he skipped off between one glance and the next.

Providing for Naruto in style and comfort was no less than he owed Minato-sensei’s memory, but Kakashi hated shopping. Spending the money was bad enough, but he always felt that his time and attention could be much better spent curled up somewhere comfortable with a good book. Still, duty was duty, so he spent a few hours picking out kitchenware, toiletries, shower curtains, area rugs, bath mats, a child sized bed, a plush sofa, and a few age appropriate books for Naruto. He could carry everything himself, but when he saw Tenzo walking around out of uniform he fluttered his eyelashes until the young ANBU agreed to help.

“It’s much easier with two people,” Kakashi said gratefully after they’d redistributed the weight of everything piled high on the sofa.

“You seemed to be handling it with a shadow clone, sir.”

“But then I saw my cute little junior classman nearby and I thought he might be kind enough to help with the monumental task I have undertaken.”

“This can’t be more than five or six hundred pounds. Is that considered monumental for a shinobi of your caliber?”

“Ah, but Tenzo my very good friend, this is barely half of what I need.”

Tenzo’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as he helped Kakashi flip Naruto’s new little bed off of the sofa and move it to the room the boy had chosen for his own. “And what else exactly do you need?”

“A dresser, bookshelf, and toy box for Naruto, stools for the kitchen, more book shelves in my room and the office,” Kakashi ticked the list off on his fingers feeling like he was forgetting something important. “Oh, and a training post for the yard, though that can wait until I fix up the garden a little bit more.”

“Just that sir?” Tenzo’s mouth quirked unhappily, the way it often did when he felt he was being added to a mission for his wood style instead of his skills.

“Not sir,” Kakashi corrected. “I’m asking for a favor as a friend. I’m no longer your superior officer. Maybe I’m still your cherished upperclassman, but I can’t give you orders.”

Flattery worked on Tenzo. Flattery always worked on Tenzo. Smiling a little, he started forming seals. “I know you can’t give me orders as an ANBU anymore. If you’ll recall, I witnessed your resignation. When you left, the Hokage said that you were taking on a noble task and if we saw an opportunity to assist you we should take it. So it is an order after all.”

Kakashi returned Tenzo’s smile with his most charming grin. “Thank you, my friend.” The wood style user was sweating when he finished creating all of the requested items, but he was definitely among Kakashi’s most useful friends. Not only could he defray the cost of refurbishing a house, talking him into helping was so much less annoying than shopping. Plus, Kakashi really liked the way his new bookshelves grew out of the walls organically. Tenzo’s design aesthetic was very appealing.

“I saw that you rebuilt the porch yourself, presumably by hand. You could have called on me to help there as well.”

“No. Naruto was a little too impressed when I rebuilt the garden wall in half a minute with my earth style. It’s important that he understand the value of things—that hard work is necessary and you can’t just get whatever you want with jutsu.”

Tenzo smirked. Kakashi thought it was a rudely out of place expression on his normally wooden face. “When do you think you’ll be coming to understand that, Senpai?”

Laughing, Kakashi waved him away. “So I get nothing but sass once I leave ANBU, is that it? Well, it was a good team building exercise for the kid, anyway.”

Tenzo was kind enough to stick around and help Kakashi finish unpacking everything and arranging the house. By the time Kakashi left to pick Naruto up at the park, the old place actually looked like a home Minato-sensei wouldn’t be disappointed to find his son living in.

Rushing over to Kakashi the moment he saw him, Naruto bounced up and down, incomprehensibly babbling about the fact that Kakashi had come at the appointed time. Kakashi wondered absently if someone had mentioned his habit of being somewhat less than punctual. Continuing that behavior would be useful with a student. It would teach him patience, tolerance, and how to expect the unexpected. Unfortunately, Kakashi couldn’t begin his acquaintance with Naruto that way. They needed to build trust, and Naruto deserved a little of the consistency that his calendars and careful counting made it so clear that he craved.

“Ready to head home for dinner?”

“Yeah!” However, rather than following Kakashi when he turned and started walking, Naruto froze.

Kakashi paused and called, “You coming?” over his shoulder while carefully surveying the park. Every adult was staring at Naruto. Most of the kids were, too, but since they weren’t highly trained shinobi, Kakashi cared less about that. 

Naruto approached Kakashi’s side hesitantly reached with one trembling hand to take Kakashi’s. The jounin could hear the boy’s thundering heartbeat and feel the racing pulse in his wrist. Whatever was going on, Naruto was terrified. The loss of Kakashi’s left hand to defend against a sudden attack was a small price to pay to reassure the boy and keep him within reach. There was no single opponent in the park that Kakashi could not defeat one handed, and if they attacked him en masse he wanted Naruto close enough to defend easily.

“How was your day?” he asked, casually attempting to gauge which direction the attack would come from.

“Good,” Naruto said instantly. “I was good and I played on the swings and I found a frog and it ate a bug and now we can go home.”

Naruto said this last with an awe that was becoming familiar to Kakashi and the man realized that he’d been ignoring the obvious threat in Naruto’s mind. Glancing around the park for confirmation, he saw that all of the parents—even the ones who weren’t bothering to hide their blatant interest in his affairs—had their children by the hand to lead them home. Naruto, on the other hand, had probably never been picked up from the park by anyone. He found his way there and he found his way home. Unlike Kakashi, the boy wasn’t made to be a solitary creature. He wanted to hold Kakashi’s hand, and he was terrified of asking for too much. Understanding at last, Kakashi gave Naruto’s tiny, dirt covered fingers a squeeze and tugged him along, heading for home.

An afternoon at the park left Naruto filthy. As he had the night before, Kakashi pushed Naruto toward the shower almost immediately after dinner. The boy had been caring for himself for years; he could wash behind his own ears.

“Once you’re clean the tub will be full and we can have a proper bath,” Kakashi promised by way of an incentive. It was certainly something that Kakashi was looking forward to. As far as he could see, the proper, family sized bathtub was the one advantage the old house had over apartment living.

Naruto didn’t show any particular excitement about bathing, but he obeyed Kakashi’s directions with an alacrity that many fully-fledged shinobi would do well to copy. Washing his hair and behind his ears with so much soap that he still had bubbles covering his head when he stepped out of the shower, Naruto managed to get clean enough that Kakashi was willing to allow him in the bath. After he pushed the boy back into the shower and dumped a bucket of warm water over his head to rinse away the remaining shampoo, of course. Naruto giggled happily.

“Hey, are you going to take a bath with me?”

“I was planning to. The tub is big enough for five and it’s too deep for you to sit in alone. Unless you mind?”

“No! That’s great, you know!”

Bemused, Kakashi just smiled at the boy. Naruto’s enthusiasm surpassed exuberance, a complete reversal of his initial reluctance to wash. “I need to shower, too. Stay on the steps until I join you.”

Swimming lessons should be a priority, Kakashi realized as he quickly scrubbed the grit of a busy day away. Just enough to float or tread water if he fell into a river or something would be a sufficient start, and they could save the boy’s life. Worrying would be foolish, of course, since he could hear the boy babbling quietly and splashing his feet in the bath. It only took him two minutes to get completely clean anyway. Naruto was still sitting on the edge of the bath with his legs dipping onto the first step. He was well balanced. There was no risk of him falling in.

“Wow! You even wear a mask when you take a bath.” Naruto bounced down the steps until the water reached his armpits the moment Kakashi entered the tub. “That’s pretty cool. Do you have weapons too?”

“A shinobi is a weapon, Naruto. I have my fists and my jutsu.”

Naruto looked down at the distorted image of his own body through the rippling bathwater, then up at Kakashi. He was going to ask. Kakashi sank into the water and pretended not to notice the boy staring at him. “Can you take your mask off?”

“I can do anything I choose.” The hot water felt so good on his muscles. Three days of bowstring tension leeched away. Every man chose his own path and acted accordingly. Destiny wasn’t written on a face or hidden in a seal.

“Please?” Naruto looked so small and hopeful. His father had been a shy child as well, or so everyone who had known Minato-sensei as a boy always said.

“I’ll tell you what, when you’re shinobi enough to pull down my mask, you can see my face.”

Naruto’s eyes narrowed. Kakashi could feel him tensing for the attack from the way the water responded to the slight shift he made. Catching the boy’s hand easily, Kakashi dunked him quickly under the water before setting him on the bench.

“Is it another scar?” Naruto asked, sputtering and shaking water out of his ears. “Like the one on your eye?”

Considering the fact that it was the first time Naruto had seen Kakashi without at least a forehead protector over the Sharingan, that was actually a reasonably logical conclusion. “No, but then, I don’t hide my eye because I’m ashamed of my scar.”

“Really cool ninja always have scars,” Naruto said knowledgeably. “The man who lives behind the school only has one hand and he tells stories all the time about fighting in wars.”

“And fighting in wars is cool?”

“Did you fight in a war?”

Kakashi grunted an affirmation.

“Is that how you lost your eye?”

Grunting again, Kakashi wondered if he should tell Naruto the story of Kannabi Bridge, but the boy couldn’t possibly understand it. That story could wait until Naruto was old enough to really learn from Kakashi’s example.

“Do you have to lose a body part to become a really strong shinobi?”

Kakashi blinked at him. The child looked honestly worried, biting at his lower lip and clenching the side of the tub in one little, red fist. “Losing a part of yourself to war can only make you weaker, Naruto,” he said finally, opening both of his eyes. “Unless you have a very good friend who can help you to heal.”

“Oh. Why is your eye all red like that? I didn’t think you had two eyes, you know.”

Kakashi shut his eyes again and leaned back, letting the water wick up the washcloth covering the lower half of his face. “The world is full of surprises.”

Proving his point, Naruto chose that moment to leap forward again and try to jerk the washcloth away from Kakashi’s face. The boy might be hesitant emotionally, but he was bold. He would make a fine shinobi. Shyness certainly hadn’t stopped his father from becoming great.


	5. Chapter 5

After seeing the way the teachers and volunteers at the preschool looked at Naruto—with real hatred and genuine, if slightly concealed, fear—Kakashi didn’t bother talking to anyone about getting Naruto reinstated. Homeschooling prior to entering the academy was perfectly common. Certainly Kakashi had never attended any other school and neither had Minato-sensei. If Naruto wasn’t the genius his father had been, then having a genius for a teacher would have to be enough.

The garden still wasn’t ready, but the Hokage’s advice about establishing a training routine for Naruto before Kakashi needed to leave the village on missions was smart. Kakashi might be lazy, but he’d never been a procrastinator. After a morning of reading and writing practice, he took Naruto to one of the public training fields—just a simple clearing with a few practice posts—and they got started on shuriken throwing.

The boy had a good eye, but terrible form. If he had to wait for an academy teacher to correct him, he would already be behind the curve. The class dunce on the first day of school, not at all what Minato-sensei would have wanted for his son.

Kakashi pulled the little metal stars from the big wooden post. At least he’d managed to hit the general area of the target every time, even if only one had found the red circle. Plenty of children Naruto’s age wouldn’t have even managed that much.

Strategizing about his plans to train the boy, Kakashi was almost caught off guard by the sudden assault. His opponent had gotten better about shielding his chakra and intent until right before an attack. With forethought like that added to the man’s incredible speed, he was becoming a real threat. Kakashi barely had time to dodge the kick that shattered the heavy training post and he was pressed enough to leap away in exactly the wrong direction.

“Challenge!” the green clad jounin shouted, punching the air emphatically. Kakashi felt the tiny, unexpected flare of real intent. Guy clearly felt it too, turning to see Naruto rushing at him with a kunai.

“Guy!” Kakashi shouted, knowing that the word would be too late before it even left his mouth. In the shinobi world size didn’t matter. A small boy could often kill just as quickly as a giant and Naruto looked like a threat. Guy wouldn’t even be trying to hurt him—not a kid wearing the Uzumaki spiral on his shirt—he’d just throw the boy and expect him to know how to fall. Naruto wasn’t at that level yet, though. Naruto couldn’t take even the softest hit from a shinobi like Guy, not if Guy was the least bit serious.

Sure enough, before Kakashi even managed to say his rival’s whole name, Guy had the kunai in one hand and Naruto in the other, but Guy didn’t throw the boy. Holding Naruto off the ground by the back of his shirt, Guy inspected him the way one might look at a particularly curious kitten.

“You have quite a fierce protector, here, Kakashi,” he observed as Naruto took a swing at his face that failed to connect and only served to spin the boy like a windsock, his shirt wrapping around the large man’s fist.

“I won’t let you hurt him!” Naruto yelled. “I’ll kill you!”

“Put him down, Guy,” Kakashi ordered. When Guy obeyed, Naruto dropped to the ground and immediately kicked him hard in the shin.

“You’re nothing but a big bully, you know!”

“Calm down, Naruto,” Kakashi ordered. “Guy is a friend.”

Predictably, tears began to well in Guy’s eyes. Kakashi was usually better with words, but the situation had caught him off guard. “Rival! To hear you describe our great and storied friendship as such gladdens my heart beyond words!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Emotion was buzzing under Kakashi’s skin like electricity. It wasn’t his usual low-grade annoyance with Guy. Nor was it frustration that his plans for Naruto’s education had been derailed for at least part of the morning. “You’re here to challenge me, right?”

“Indeed I am, my Eternal Rival! I have only one day of leave before I must set out again to prove my devotion to the Village and our righteous strength, but I can think of no better way to spend it than by testing myself against my most powerful and valiant opponent!”

Months had passed since the last time Guy challenged him. That had been before their joint mission, the one where Guy got to see up close and personal just how much of a cold blooded murderer Kakashi really was. A part of Kakashi had believed that would be the end of the challenges and lunch invitations. He wasn’t sure if he was relieved or irritated that that had not been the case. The coppery taste of adrenaline on his tongue was too much for that kind of worry. 

After almost half a minute, Kakashi realized what he was feeling. Anger. Fury. It wasn’t directed at Guy. “Then let’s fight. No holds barred.”

“Wahoo!” Guy punched the air, pirouetting like a dancer. “That’s exactly what I want most, Rival! Shall we call the winner by first blood or go all the way to an injury?”

“When one of us can’t continue.”

Guy blinked. “I already have a scheduled mission tomorrow morning.” It went without saying that a fight until they couldn’t fight anymore could leave them both in pretty bad shape.

“It’s up to you,” Kakashi shrugged casually, careful not to display any outward sign of his incandescent rage. “You were the one who suggested we fight a challenge. If you’re too cowardly to agree to my terms just because you know you can’t win—“

Guy’s dark eyes resolved into complete seriousness the second Kakashi said the word. “I accept.” Some things were as predictable as the sunrise. “And if I do not defeat you, I will challenge every member of the Uchiha family with a Sharingan to spar with me so that I am better prepared for our next bout.” Guy’s insane training rules were also predictable. Kakashi didn’t care.

Picking Naruto up, Kakashi sat him atop one of the two remaining wooden practice posts. “You sit right here and watch.”

“Okay!” The boy clearly didn’t understand any part of what was about to happen. He seemed excited by the prospect of watching a fight.

“Guy is my friend and a good sparring partner,” Kakashi said. “He doesn’t want to hurt me and I don’t want to hurt him.”

“I know what taijutsu practice is, you know!”

“We’ll be using ninjutsu as well as taijutsu and possibly genjutsu as well.”

“Cool!”

“If you stay right here you’ll be safe. Don’t interfere. This is a battle between jounin.”

Naruto nodded seriously with his wide, blue eyes, but he still looked too excited for the circumstances. He would learn. If Kakashi didn’t teach him now the world would later.

Turning to Guy, Kakashi made the sign of challenge. Guy mirrored him with grave, battle-hardened eyes. One breath. Another. Then the attack! Rushing at Kakashi, Guy feinted with a punch before trying the Leaf Hurricane. Kakashi dodged, flipped backward, and unveiled his Sharingan. With his increased perception, he saw Guy’s focus switch to his feet, which was interesting. Kakashi threw a shuriken clone jutsu at him, but Guy seemed to read the attack without looking up. Of course he was fast enough to dodge all of the sharp little stars and cut around behind Kakashi.

Forced to actually exchange blows hand to hand, Kakashi was at a slight disadvantage. There was no matching Guy in terms of speed and power, only technical prowess. He could hold his own in the first few strikes, but even that wouldn’t last if Guy opened the gates. Of course, Guy opening the gates was precisely the point of this exercise, but the other jounin wasn’t going to do that until Kakashi pressed him.

Landing a good kick to the left side of Guy’s body gave Kakashi the perfect opportunity to feint down with a kunai in hand, as though he planned to stab his rival in the leg. Then, dropping the kunai, Kakashi drove his fist up at Guy’s chin. He missed, of course, but connecting with the uppercut had never been the point. As Guy dodged backward, his eyes met Kakashi. That fraction of a second was all Kakashi needed to work his genjutsu.

Guy’s eyes went vacant for a split second as he saw the image of Kakashi being hit from behind by a thousand kunai—their sparring session being attacked by an outside force of wicked Stone shinobi—but it didn’t last. Kakashi barely had the chance to dodge backward and create a little space to work in, let alone hide away and leave a shadow clone behind the way he wanted to. Guy’s eyes focused on him and the taijutsu master once again attempted to close the distance.

“You can’t get me with your genjutsu anymore, Rival!”

It seemed to be true. Kakashi spared a fleeting moment of nostalgia for the days when he could get Guy off his back easily with a well placed illusion, but for a man who could barely remember the names of his opponents, Guy had been hardening his mind as well as his body. Well, neither of them were the skinny little boys they had been, and Kakashi was still smart enough not to fight Guy in close quarters.

Using earth style to throw up four tall walls around Guy forced Kakashi’s rival to respond by opening the first five gates to smash his way out of the trap quickly. It also gave Kakashi the space to finally flee into the nearby trees, leaving a shadow clone behind. Finally Guy was fooled. He tried to close with the clone, who threw weapons, created earth walls, shot fireballs, and spouted water cannons making every attempt to keep Guy’s attention while the real Kakashi watched vigilantly for an opening.

When Guy finally closed with the clone and caught it in a headlock, Kakashi had his chance. Using the Headhunter jutsu, he sprang up from the ground underneath Guy just as the shadow clone disappeared with a quiet poof of displaced air. Yanking Guy down as he rose up, Kakashi closed the earth around his rival’s neck, leaving Guy buried with only his head above ground.

“I should do you a favor and cut your hair while you’re down there,” Kakashi joked.

“You shouldn’t think you can get me in such a weak trap,” Guy said, staring up at him with white eyes. Kakashi had a bad feeling. He’d gotten Guy with the Headhunter before, but Guy had put on quite a bit of muscle mass since then.

Bursting from the ground, Guy sent dirt and rocks flying everywhere. His sense of foreboding put Kakashi on edge enough to dodge the first strike, leaping away and creating distance, which was always an advantage. Using another earth style, he encased Guy in almost a ton of solid rock. It was actually less effective than the Headhunter, but it slowed Guy down enough to give Kakashi a second to think. He would have to incapacitate Guy with something other than a trap or a genjutsu, which meant hurting him. A dislocation or a clean break would be best—something easily healed so that Guy could still go on his mission—but Kakashi wasn’t sure he could manage it. He wasn’t sure Guy would allow an easy end to this fight. Not after Kakashi had called him both weak and cowardly in the space of a single sentence.

So busy thinking, Kakashi almost missed the fact that the huge chunks of stone Guy sent flying when he broke free of the second trap were heading in a number of directions. He almost didn’t notice one of those rocks hurtling toward Naruto’s supposedly safe perch.

Slamming his hand into the ground, Kakashi made a wall between the stone and Naruto. The enormous rock struck it and broke into pieces. That was good. Kakashi didn’t want to think about what a rock that large could do to a little boy. Pain exploded in Kakashi’s head and the world went black. That was less than ideal.

“You killed him!” Naruto was yelling. “You killed him, and I’ll kill you!”

“Please, Young Warrior, I need to see to my rival. He could be badly hurt.”

“I’m fine,” Kakashi said, sitting up just in time to see Naruto stop pounding his tiny fists against Guy’s stomach.

“You’re okay!” The boy threw his arms around Kakashi’s neck, jarring his head. Gently disengaging the hold, Kakashi pushed him away.

“I apologize, Rival. I hit you with my full strength assuming that you would dodge. I did not see as you did that your young protector was endangered by my actions. We will not count this challenge toward our total, of course.”

“Why not?” Kakashi pulled his forehead protector down to cover his Sharingan, then took a moment to rub at his aching temples. “You won fair and square.”

“Of course I didn’t! You were distracted!”

“And you capitalized on your advantage and made it into a win. Today you’re the better shinobi.”

“Don’t say that!”

“Fighting no holds barred is meant to simulate a real battle,” Kakashi said, driving the point home in case the boy didn’t yet understand. “In a real battle, if Naruto’s in danger I’ll have to fight at a disadvantage. It’s good to practice that now.”

“I wouldn’t have this be the way I finally defeat you in a fight, Kakashi.” Guy was dead serious. He always was when he considered something a matter of honor. He also wasn’t Kakashi’s main concern at the moment.

Finally looking over to the boy to see if he understood, Kakashi was taken aback to realize that the child was crying. He was clearly trying to hold it in, but fat tears were dripping from his cheeks and his nose was full of snot.

“Hey now,” Kakashi said, pulling a clean white cloth from his vest and giving it to the kid. “You weren’t hurt were you?”

Naruto shook his head, blowing his nose and wiping his eyes, which still had tears welling up and falling silently down his face.

“It was too frightening,” Kakashi realized. “I’m sorry. I told you that Guy won’t hurt either of us, but you need to understand. This is the level I fight at. Right now, you can’t go near anyone who attacks me. Even having you on the same field is a disadvantage for me. I know that you want to help, but they will only capture you and force me to surrender. Do you understand?”

Naruto nodded sadly, still crying silently. Kakashi had never felt more lost in his life. He looked to Guy, who had been the type to cry as a child and so should possess some insight, but the big man just looked confused.

“Who is this boy, Kakashi?”

“He’s Naruto Uzumaki,” Kakashi said, trying to will Guy not to react badly to the name. Apparently it worked because Guy just continued staring at him blankly. “He’s going to stay with me for a while.”

“In your apartment? It’s a little small.”

“No. I reopened my father’s house. The Hokage approved an official adoption, so there was no sense in beating around the bush.”

“I’ve only been gone a week.”

Kakashi ignored him and turned back to Naruto. “Please stop crying. We can go get some ramen if you want. Would you like that?”

Naruto nodded again slowly, wiping at his face with the handkerchief, but he didn’t say anything and he didn’t stop crying.

“Crying doesn’t help anything, Naruto!” Guy said. “If you don’t like the way things are, all you have to do is get stronger. Look at me! When I was your age, I could barely hold a kunai and now I can fight someone like Kakashi bare handed.”

Kakashi glared at him. This wasn’t the time for Guy’s bragging.

“Really?” Naruto said with a tiny hiccup. “You—you were like me?”

“Even weaker,” Guy said seriously. “Want me to show you how to throw a punch?”

Naruto nodded. The tears were slowing to a trickle and Kakashi was holding his breath for some reason. “How’d you get so big?”

“Hard work! Are you willing to work hard, Naruto?”

“Yeah.”

“Then make a fist.” Naruto obeyed, clenching his little hand. “Good, but don’t curl your fingers under that way, just touch the tips to the top of your palm.” Guy took Naruto’s hand and adjusted his thumb. “You did well not to tuck your thumb inside of your fist. That’s a good way to break a finger. But keep it here. It will give you more control. Now hit my hand with the full force of youth!”

Naruto struck Guy’s open palm half-heartedly.

“Straight punch, Naruto,” he corrected with a smile. “Keep that wrist straight!” Naruto punched his hand again. “Good. Now put some power behind that! Remember how hard I hit Kakashi.” Naruto punched Guy’s hand again and again. He wasn’t crying anymore, just frowning and grunting with childish anger. “Hit with your knuckles, not the flat of your fingers. Well done!” Naruto swung again and again, slamming his little fists into Guy’s hand. He really didn’t have bad form, and the crying seemed to be done. “There!” Guy said, “That should be enough for today. I’m sure Kakashi can work with you more tomorrow.”

“Are you going away?” Naruto asked querulously.

“No,” Kakashi said quickly, in case the crying started again. “Guy is coming to have ramen with us.” Shooting Guy a look, Kakashi tried to simultaneously promise pain upon refusal and convey how deeply he would be indebted if his friend came along.

Guy didn’t even catch the look, he was too busy scooping Naruto up and perching the child on his right shoulder like a decorative bird. “Of course I will come to share in your supper! I will even treat! Circumstances aside, this is my first win in a full, no holds barred fight against my Eternal Rival. We must celebrate my achievement!”

“You never, ever beat Kakashi before?”

“No! The standings of our rivalry are currently twenty-two to thirteen in his favor.”

“That doesn’t mean you beat him thirteen times?”

“I have defeated Kakashi at janken several times, in a rock climbing contest, a dancing competition, a swimming race, an ice sculpting challenge, and at secretly infiltrating a secure installation.”

Kakashi resisted the urge to argue that the dancing and sculpting had both been contests he agreed to under duress, judged by Genma, Hayate, and Raido, who all thought it was funny to give the victory to Guy. He also refrained from mentioning that he’d gone into the palace second during the infiltration challenge, and security had been on high alert, clearly in response to Guy stealing the scroll in the first place, so putting it back had been far more difficult than taking the thing.

“But Kakashi beat you in twenty-two fights?”

“Ah, no,” Guy said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “As I said our challenges are not always fights. In addition to taijutsu matches, Kakashi has beaten me with the sickle and chain, shuriken, kunai, nunchaku, katana, and senbon. He has beaten me in foot races, at tree climbing, in boat races, at tracking lost objects, and, of course, at janken several times. Additionally, he has often been kind enough to spar with me without designating it one of our official challenges. He always beats me.” Guy blushed. “But not today! Today is proof that working hard and training every day can help anyone to achieve his dreams!”

Tears started welling up in Naruto’s eyes again. Kakashi felt a strange, low-grade panic. What had he been thinking? Naruto didn’t need lessons in the fact that the world was a dangerous, unforgiving place. The orphan already knew that. What he needed was safety, security, and the confidence that Kakashi would and could protect him.

“Hey!” Guy said, dropping Naruto quickly from his shoulder to his hip so that he was hugging the boy to his side rather than stabilizing him with one arm. “What’s wrong?”

Maybe it was the exhilaration of being dropped and caught, or maybe it was the immediate attention to his needs, but Naruto did not start crying. Instead he asked in that soft, heartbreaking voice if he made Kakashi very weak.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Guy said, shaking him a little. “I may not be able to beat the genius Copy Ninja often, but I’m generally considered the strongest taijutsu master in Leaf Village. Anyway, if I were a real enemy and Kakashi wanted to hurt me, he could have killed me three times before you were in danger.”

“Really?”

“Lightning Blade instead of Headhunter, my dogs instead of a shadow clone, or the Phoenix Flower instead of the Fireball to get you in position, following that up with a Lightning Blade between your shoulders,” Kakashi agreed, hoping it might restore a little of the boy’s confidence.

“Is the Lightning Blade what you had in your hand when those men were mean to me?”

“No, that was my Chidori.”

“Chidori?” Guy asked in surprise. Kakashi never used a Chidori without killing intent.

“It looked like he was holding lightning in his hand,” Naruto explained, clearly thinking that Guy might not know the jutsu. “It was really bright and cool and tough.”

“I’m sure,” Guy said, looking down at the boy in his arms. “Where are you from, Naruto? Since Kakashi doesn’t seem to want to tell me.”

“He’s from this village,” Kakashi said exasperated. “His name is Naruto Uzumaki.” Guy hadn’t been one of the Fourth Hokage’s students, but he’d been close enough to Kakashi that he should remember the name of the man’s wife. At the very least he should remember the name of the boy in whom the Nine Tailed Fox had been sealed. Everyone else in the village sure seemed to.

It was no use. Guy was as thick as mud sometimes. “Someone attacked the village while I was away?”

“Just me,” Naruto explained unhelpfully. “There were a lot of mean ninja, but then Kakashi was there or maybe that was a secret and then he said they should be punished, but the Old Man said they could go.”

“Right,” Guy said, nodding like any of that made sense. At least he didn’t ask any follow up questions, since they’d finally arrived at the ramen stand. Kakashi was extremely grateful when the conversation turned to the fact that Naruto could eat two bowls all by himself and that Guy liked spicy food best.

Kakashi did his best to keep things in that vein, forcing Guy to tell stories about all of the disgusting things he had eaten over the years. He even got his rival to recount the mission in a swamp when their supplies ran out and Guy started eating insects right away even though there were plenty of mushrooms and wild plants available. Guy saw his lack of squeamishness as a point of pride. Naruto was five years old, so any story about someone eating bugs was a pretty big hit.

On the way home, however, Kakashi had to break the mood a little. There was no point in having scared Naruto so badly if he didn’t actually try to teach the lesson. “So, Naruto, we need to talk.”

“I’m taller than you,” the boy giggled. Which he was, because Guy insisted on carrying him on his shoulders even though he was unhurt and perfectly capable of keeping up.

“Seriously, Naruto. What will you do if someone attacks me?”

“Go find Guy,” Naruto said instantly, tugging Guy’s hair. Guy looked up at him obligingly and smiled.

“That’s right!” he said happily. “Any enemy that troubles Kakashi can surely be defeated by the two of us fighting side by side!”

It was actually a good idea, and Kakashi was proud of Naruto for thinking of it. However, it wasn’t quite good enough. “You need to do as I say. If I tell you to go for help, yes, find Guy or someone trustworthy. If I tell you to stay close to me, then I need to know you’ll do that.”

“Okay.” The boy was drumming his hands on Guy’s head. Kakashi wasn’t sure he had the child’s full attention, but he let the subject drop.

Guy hung around while Naruto cleaned up and got ready for bed. He probably wanted an explanation, which Kakashi was happy enough to give him if he was willing to wait. Getting Naruto accustomed to following Kakashi’s orders was suddenly a much higher priority than it had been.

Naruto obediently washed and put on his sleepwear even though Kakashi showed no sign of doing the same. “Will you tell me another story about the Fourth Hokage before bed?”

It was a good nighttime ritual, even if it was one that Kakashi had begun accidentally. More than anything he wanted to tell the boy stories of his father and be the conduit through which the Fourth Hokage’s ninja way passed to his son. However, he needed to exercise his authority and the stories would be more effective if he set them up as a reward.

“If you will read one of your books to me first.”

“Okay! Can I read the one about the ninja turtle?”

“I think Guy would like that a lot.”

“Indeed! I should summon my good friend Ningame! As a ninja tortoise, I am quite sure he would enjoy such a story a great deal!”

“That might be a little much for bedtime, Guy.”

“Do you really have a ninja turtle?”

“Yes! The turtles that I summon are in every way equal to the dogs that Kakashi uses in battle, no matter what he might tell you!”

“Kakashi, you can summon a dog?”

“Yes. My ninja dogs are adorable. If you want to meet them we can arrange that tomorrow, but right now you were going to get into bed and read me the story. Leave it too long and there won’t be time for me to tell you anything about the Fourth Hokage tonight.”

“Oh, right!” Settled into his bed with Kakashi sitting at the foot and Guy curled behind his head, Naruto started reading. His reading was slow and labored, just as it had been that morning. The turtle book was the simplest of the books that Kakashi had purchased for the boy, with only one sentence per page, and the story was a fairly trite piece about speed not being necessary if one thought ahead. The artwork was well crafted, though, and the lesson was one that bore repeating.

Guy’s presence was very disruptive to Kakashi’s newly decided routine. He constantly interrupted Naruto, and not only with questions to demonstrate reading comprehension. Asking which pictures Naruto liked best, how many shuriken were in a particular illustration, and what sort of animal Naruto would like to summon when he was a fully fledged shinobi all called attention away from the task at hand. It took the boy half an hour to finish reading a book with fewer than seven hundred words, most of them repetitions of “turtle”, “ninja”, and “plan.”

“Excellent reading, Naruto!” Guy sprang to his feet, clapping his hands when the child finally closed the book. “You have a certain dramatic air when you tell a story that can serve a shinobi well on missions requiring subterfuge! Very well done!”

“Thanks, Mister Guy,” Naruto said, looking down at the back cover of his book and blushing a deep crimson. Guy’s approach certainly had its merits. While the boy complied willingly with every request Kakashi made, he clearly didn’t like reading very much. However, his enthusiasm was real when he said, “Maybe tomorrow I can read to you some more, you know!”

“Oh, for such a pleasure I would willingly forgo any personal commitment,” Guy lamented. He looked genuinely disappointed to say no. “Unfortunately, my duty to the Village demands that I leave first thing in the morning for an important mission. Would you do me the very great honor of extending your offer to the date of my return? I should not be gone for more than a few weeks, and having a well read story to look forward to upon my homecoming shall doubtless hasten my journey.”

“Yeah!” Naruto promised enthusiastically. “We can put it on my calendar!”

He leapt out of bed, which was something Kakashi felt should be discouraged, but Naruto refused to settle until Guy circled a day and wrote “Guy—Return” with the bright red marker on the calendar.

“That’s great,” Naruto said, surveying the calendar with his hands on his hips. “I have a lot of friends, you know. But I can keep track of everything. I’m very neat and organized.”

Both qualities that Kakashi approved highly of the boy cultivating, but he had given an order. Orders needed to be obeyed. “All right, Mister Neat and Organized, back in bed.”

Naruto bounced happily back into his little bed and pulled the covers up to his chin. “Yeah! Kakashi tells the best stories, you know!”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Guy said, settling into the bed next to Naruto and wrapping an arm around the boy. He looked expectantly up at Kakashi, who would have felt mocked if it had been anyone but Guy grinning that way.

“When the Fourth Hokage was a young shinobi he wanted to learn how to summon animals. His master, the Legendary Toad Sage, was a great friend of the Toads of Mount Myoboku. Moreover, he was the keeper of a contract with all of the Toads. The Fourth Hokage knew that signing that contract was the key to being able to summon toads himself, a power he wanted very much.”

Naruto stared up at him happily with shining, curious eyes. It was exactly what a student should be. Kakashi carefully avoided locking eyes with Guy, who appeared just as enraptured, and continued.

“The Legendary Sage said that the young Fourth Hokage did not have the chakra to summon a toad—he was not yet strong enough—and that he needed to work on shuriken jutsu and other things more appropriate for his age. The Fourth Hokage had faith in his own abilities, but he obeyed his master. Working harder than ever, the Fourth pushed his body past the point of pain every single day. His soft hearted master approved of his goal, but he didn’t like to see the boy in pain.

“‘If you can beat my toads in battle,’ he suggested, ‘you will have earned the right to summon them. Otherwise, you must agree to rest a little more and give yourself time to grow.’”

“So did he accept the challenge?” Naruto interrupted eagerly. Guy’s eyes were shining just as brightly.

“Of course. A student does not refuse his master. The sage was trying to let the Lord Fourth grow at his own pace, but the Legendary Hero did not realize how extreme that pace could be for a genius. He summoned a young toad the same size as the boy. The Fourth Hokage sparred for a little while with the toad to be polite, but a toad his own size was no kind of challenge. He defeated the young animal and dispatched it back to its mountain quickly. Recognizing that his student’s skill justified a little more faith, the Sage summoned a toad the size of a large man. This time the Fourth Hokage leapt into action immediately. He swept a kick under the toad’s legs, but she sprang high into the air—as only a toad can jump. Naturally, this was exactly the moment for which the Fourth Hokage had been waiting. He unleashed a trap jutsu that caught the toad in a heavy chain net, pinning her to the ground and defeating her. Wanting to prove to his student that skill and study were not enough, one needed age and power as well, the Legendary Sage summoned an older toad. This toad was twice as big as the house we’re in now. It carried a large sword and was fast enough to cleave the ground in two before the Fourth Hokage even realized he was dodging. However, the Fourth Hokage’s instincts made him as fast as the wind. The wind was what he used against his new opponent, sending the element against the giant creature in a great gust that both threw the animal and cut into its tender skin. The Fourth Hokage was only a boy, after all, and he needed to attack a monster like that seriously if he wanted any hope of winning.”

“Did he beat it?”

“He did indeed, using a combination of his natural speed, wind style techniques, and well placed shuriken, he wore the giant animal down so much that it could no longer continue. It conceded defeat and returned to Mount Myoboku. The Fourth Hokage turned to his teacher and asked him to please summon another toad. ‘I don’t need to rest, Sensei,’ he said, ‘I am ready.’ Of course the Toad Sage had only one response to that.”

“What was it?”

“He told the Fourth Hokage that he was ready indeed. Then he took out the scroll that he carried, the contract he had with all toad kind, and he let the Fourth Hokage sign it in blood. After that, the Fourth Hokage was able to summon toads to help him in battle whenever he needed them.”

“Cool.” Naruto yawned widely and blinked slowly.

“Do you have everything you need?”

The boy nodded sleepily.

“Then good night, Naruto.”

“Good night, Kakashi. Goodnight, Mister Guy.”

“Good night, young warrior.”

Curling into his bed, Naruto shut his eyes obediently. Kakashi had heard other adults complain about children who argued or fought their bedtimes. He was lucky that the boy was so eager to please. Even if he wasn’t asleep by the time the door shut, Kakashi knew that the boy would stay in bed until he was. How so many people could be blinded by prejudice against such an innocent was an absolute mystery to Kakashi.

“That boy is Minato-sensei’s son,” said Guy in a low, serious voice when they were safely ensconced in the kitchen where Naruto couldn’t hear them. “The one with the demon sealed inside of him.”

Grunting an affirmative, Kakashi poured tea for both of them.

“And he was attacked by enemies of the village, so you have taken him in to protect him!” Guy somehow managed to express his usual enthusiasm while still keeping his voice at a volume that would not disturb Naruto. “Truly the action of my most worthy rival!” 

“He was attacked,” Kakashi agreed, not looking up from his tea. “Though arguably not by enemies of the village.”

“What do you mean, Rival?”

“I mean, shinobi whose sworn duty it is to protect the children of this village, men who quite probably owed their lives to the valor of the Fourth Hokage, caught that boy in an alley and beat him nearly half to death.”

“That—that can’t—“

“He was living in squalor. I may be worthless, but I can give him a better life than the one he had.”

Guy stared at Kakashi unblinking. The idea probably didn’t even compute for him. Cruelty wasn’t something he could attribute to shinobi of the Leaf, no matter how many times he and his father had been on the receiving end of it. Guy always wanted to see the best in his comrades. “You’re a good man,” he said, looking down at last. 

Usually Kakashi would capitalize on that aspect of Guy’s nature, but in this case his own self loathing was too much. “Not really. I should have taken responsibility for him years ago.”

“We were sixteen. That is too young.”

Kakashi had never been too young for anything, but arguing with Guy was generally a waste of time. “I could use your help.”

“Ah, yes. I noticed that you are not very affectionate with him, but that will come in time. You must simply remember to remind him often that you love him very much. It would be good to touch him a bit more as well. Children need to be embraced frequently to feel secure within your mighty heart. I know that it will be difficult for you to show such tenderness openly, but you are my eternal rival. There is nothing that you cannot do if you put forth a valiant effort!”

“I meant with his taijutsu training,” Kakashi said slowly. “His schooling up to this point has been essentially nonexistent. I thought you might remember some of those games and tricks kids use to remember the basic forms. I always just understood them, which makes that sort of thing hard to teach.”

“Ah,” Guy said, looking thoughtful. “Yes. I will be happy to assist you with Naruto’s training. You see him as a student, then?”

“What else would he be?”

“A child that lives with you? I thought you might—“

“He’s my student,” Kakashi said firmly. “As his father was my teacher. That is enough.”

Showing an uncharacteristic level of tact, Guy let the matter drop.


	6. Chapter 6

Enemies lurked in the shadow behind the bookshelf and in every suspicious puddle. Surely one night’s rain wouldn’t leave quite so much standing water. After the fifth time he pinned a harmless insect with a senbon, Kakashi was forced to admit to himself that the problem might be a personal one.

Considering his talk with Naruto about obedience and the way the boy had been terrified during the demonstration with Guy, Kakashi thought it was reasonable to be slightly on edge. Naruto might not be any safer or happier with Kakashi than he had been alone. As such, that incident called into question Kakashi’s very fitness for the task he had undertaken. While he knew that nothing had changed, the world suddenly felt a lot more dangerous. He wasn’t sure what the right thing to do really was. He needed to talk to a friend.

“I have to go somewhere today.”

“A mission?” Naruto asked. He seemed more excited than regretful about the prospect. “Will you fight bad guys? Do they have swords? Will you have to fight a dragon?”

“Not a mission,” Kakashi corrected, before the boy could ask if the dragon would also have a sword. “The Third Hokage advised me to wait three weeks before taking a mission so that you and I can establish our routine. Therefore, three weeks I shall wait. Even a suggestion from someone like the Hokage should be obeyed when possible. Obedience is one of the greatest virtues a shinobi can possess.”

Naruto ignored Kakashi’s attempt to cement the lesson. “But then where do you have to go? Why can’t I come? I’ll be really good. I promise! Like when we went to see the Old Man, I was good, remember?”

“I never said you couldn’t come, Naruto, but I am going to visit the cemetery. It will be pretty boring for you. You might have more fun at the park or playing here. I shouldn’t be gone for more than an hour or two.”

“I want to go with you.” Naruto’s voice was high and plaintive, the closest the boy had yet come to whining. Given Kakashi’s realization after Guy’s attack that he needed to be a true authority figure whose orders are obeyed, he wondered if such blatant emotional manipulation should be allowed to produce results. Demonstrating consistency was probably more important than striking the behavior down, though. 

“As I said, that is your choice.”

“Great! Should I bring anything or dress up? One time at school I heard a boy say that he always had to wear stiff, scratchy clothes to visit the cemetery.”

“No,” Kakashi said, suddenly aware that Naruto didn’t have any formal clothing, an oversight on the part of his guardian to be sure. “I usually just go in whatever I am wearing. You’ll be fine. And we’ll pick up some offerings on the way.”

With Naruto bouncing along beside him as he walked the familiar route, Kakashi wondered if visiting the memorial would serve any purpose. How could Kakashi apologize to Minato-sensei properly in the presence of the boy? Would he even be able to talk normally with Obito and Rin? He always felt more centered after speaking with his friends, but he wasn’t sure that would be enough this time. Kakashi had never brought anyone else on one of his graveyard visits, not that Kakashi had ever had anyone else to bring. Naruto would have to be an exception because the boy didn’t want to be left alone; Kakashi wouldn’t risk hurting his feelings for such a personal, emotional indulgence. 

“Got time for a word, Kakashi?” Genma asked casually, flicking the senbon he was chewing to the other side of his mouth. Genma was good at casual. A less observant shinobi than Kakashi might fail to see the thin dark line of sweat at the edge of the chunin’s bandana. Such an unobservant person might never realize that the man had clearly run at breakneck pace to lean so casually against a wall directly along Kakashi’s route to the cemetery. “In private,” he added, eyeing Naruto.

“A friend asking for my time would do well to rephrase that.”

“Good thing I’m not asking as a friend, then.”

That changed things. Genma was a decent chunin, who just might make special jounin one day or even shock the village far in the future by managing to become a true jounin, but when he wore a mask, he was one of the stealthiest assassins that Leaf’s ANBU boasted. Kakashi took a few bills out of his wallet and held them in front of Naruto.

“I have a mission for you, if you’re up for it.”

“Okay,” the boy agreed instantly.

“Do you see that shop over there?”

“Of course! I have really good vision, you know!”

“Go buy eight rice balls. Make sure at least one has pickled plum. Tell the proprietor that they’re offerings so she knows how to wrap them.”

“Got it!” Naruto grabbed the money and saluted in his childish way. “You can count on me, Kakashi!”

Genma smiled after the boy as he bounced away, which made Kakashi feel more kindly disposed to whatever message he bore. Of course, Kakashi would expect any of his former subordinates to be able to deduce such an obvious emotional vulnerability and exploit it as necessary. “He’s cute,” Genma said. “I can see why you like him.”

“You had a message for me?”

“Yeah. That assassination last week, you know, the mad prince of the Land of Water who’d been murdering our merchants and desecrating their bodies?”

“I may have heard a rumor that such a person was assassinated.”

“Sorry. That’s what I’m here to tell you. It’s now common knowledge that you made the kill.” 

The trouble with having a Sharingan was that Kakashi was almost too dependent on it. He wanted very much to see if Genma was himself, under a compulsion, or being impersonated, but unveiling the Sharingan was always a sign of suspicion. Investigating with words and his natural gifts wasn’t as easy, but it could often be more effective.

“Impossible. I haven’t been to the Land of Water in years. Any evidence suggesting otherwise has clearly been planted to implicate Leaf Village falsely.”

“The Third Lord sent you at the Lord of Fire’s specific request. While the Hokage said he would happily send an ANBU team, the Daimyo wanted the best and asked for you by name several times. He’s still fairly new to the throne and easily impressed by a legend with a pedigree. If that wasn’t bad enough, he bragged about it at a dinner party last night. A hundred guests heard. Forget about spies, not all of them were even citizens.”

Kakashi sighed. It was a plausible story. More than that, it explained the Third Lord’s comment about giving him the mission against his better judgment during the initial briefing. “That’s going to be inconvenient. Do we know how much the price on my head has gone up?”

“Not yet, but I suspect you’ll be worth at least a cool million to the daimyo of the Land of Water. He loved his son, according to the court gossips.”

“Terrific.” Kakashi paused for a moment to consider the facts. “The Hokage sent you to brief me himself, not an ANBU.”

“Maybe he thought you’d rather get the news of a death threat from a friend.”

“Thank him for the information and tell him that I won’t be giving up Naruto just because a few second rate bounty hunters have been given another reason to go after me. I can protect the boy from minor threats like this one without fear.”

Genma smiled. “I won’t say I didn’t have orders to ask you about the danger this posed to the kid.”

“I suppose I understand and respect his desire to test me,” Kakashi said, straightening up and looking to where Naruto was waiting awkwardly for him in front of the appointed shop. “But you can let him know that I have no intention of failing in this case.”

“Will do,” Genma said, teleporting away with a smirk and a swirl of green leaves. “See you around, Copy Nin.”

In front of the store, Naruto was shifting his weight from one foot to the other, rocking back and forth on his heels, and twisting his empty hands together. Obviously, he was nervous about not having accomplished his task, but he still had the money sticking out of his little pocket, so Kakashi wasn’t sure what could have gone wrong.

“Where are the rice balls?” Kakashi asked neutrally.

“Don’t you think your ancestors would rather have some nice ramen?” the boy asked earnestly. It was not a good time for him to start disobeying Kakashi’s orders.

“Was there a problem in the store, Naruto?” Kakashi didn’t want to be unfair. The shop was clearly open for business, but there were any number of things that might have prevented a small boy from completing his task.

“No, of course not! I know how to buy things, you know. I could go get some ramen for us to leave at the graves we visit right now, no problem. It just seems to me that rice balls are boring and the dead might want a change.”

“Eight rice balls,” Kakashi ordered firmly, opening the door for the boy. “At least one with plum.”

“Right,” Naruto said, slumping dejectedly. Kakashi wanted to comfort the boy. Independent thinking was a virtue to be encouraged, but it was more important to ensure that if he told Naruto to run, get help, or hide, the boy would obey. He held the door open implacably until the child entered the store.

The problem Naruto faced was immediately obvious. “I told you to get out of here,” the shopkeeper growled angrily, brandishing a broom. Kakashi ducked through the door gracefully, taking position behind Naruto.

“Please, Missus Shopkeeper, ma’am, I have money, honest. I just need to buy some rice balls quick and then I’ll go right away, you know.”

“Get out of the way, kid. I have a real customer.” The plump, elderly woman behind the counter turned her face to Kakashi, still scowling a little at the boy.

“Can I ask why you’re refusing to serve Naruto? He isn’t lying about having money.”

The scowl on her wrinkled face deepened, but she relented and put the broom down. “Sorry, Mr. Hatake. You’re right that I can’t give a reason. What do you want, brat?”

Naruto looked up at Kakashi with his wide, blue eyes in a frightened, worried expression, then turned quickly back to the proprietor. “May I please have eight rice balls, one with pickled plum?”

As it twisted from irritation to surprise, old woman’s face smoothed out a little and her wrinkles became less apparent. She suddenly looked more curious than cruel. “He’s running errands for you, Mr. Hatake?”

“We’re visiting the cemetery together,” Kakashi said blandly. “He wanted to help.”

Kakashi could see the exact moment that she remembered who Naruto really was and why he and Kakashi might visit the same graves. Kuroki wasn’t an evil woman. She’d been a shinobi of Leaf Village once. It was still surprising how many shinobi and former shinobi could ignore the past and mistreat a hero’s orphan. 

“Here,” she said, getting Naruto’s order together and adding a few sticks of incense gratis. “I am very sorry for being so rude to you, young man. Burn those for the Fourth Hokage for me, okay?”

“Can I?” Naruto asked, looking hopefully up at Kakashi.

“Definitely.”

“All right! Thanks, auntie!”

Kuroki laughed a little at her change in title and smiled indulgently at the boy. Kakashi found that he could forgive her for the initial cruelty. Unfortunately, he did not think forgiving Naruto would be quite such a simple matter.

“I asked you if something happened to prevent you from shopping before I sent you back into the store,” he observed neutrally once they were back on the winding dirt path that lead through well groomed trees to the village cemetery. Naruto stared sheepishly at his feet and kicked a pebble. “I will always help you, Naruto. I always want to help you, so I need to know when you need help.”

“I didn’t want you to know,” the boy said in a barely audible rush. “I didn’t want her to tell you.”

“Tell me what, Naruto?”

The child didn’t answer, just despondently kicked another rock out of his way.

“That sort of thing happens to you a lot,” Kakashi surmised. “People treat you as though you are—if I may borrow a term I’ve heard you use before—bad. You know it isn’t normal. You know that they wouldn’t treat a different child the way you are treated. So you don’t want any of them to tell me why they do it because you’re afraid that if I find out, I will treat you in the same deplorable manner that they do.”

Naruto stopped walking and stared up at Kakashi in astonishment. He wasn’t exactly hard to read. “I am good, you know,” he said, so softly that the words were little more than a breath. “I can be good.”

“I know, Naruto. I’m a genius. I even know why most people treat you the way they do.”

“You do? But why?”

“Because they’re too stupid to realize what a great kid you are.” While Kakashi wasn’t sure that encouraging a jinchuriki to develop a natural sense of superiority was wise, Minato-sensei’s son certainly didn’t deserve to think he had some inborn flaw that justified the way he was treated.

Naruto reached up tentatively to take Kakashi’s hand the way he had in the park, smiling happy when Kakashi shifted his parcels to allow the gesture. “I’m really happy that you’re my big brother, you know.”

Kakashi returned the smile. Finally he had a real grasp on childrearing. It was no more complicated than dealing with an adult, really. If Naruto was more vulnerable and easy to target than a fellow shinobi would be, Kakashi certainly wasn’t new to civilian protection missions. 

Besides, Naruto was a good kid. He helped Kakashi wash all of the gravestones diligently, carrying away old flowers and incense without complaining. Unexpectedly working in silence, the boy didn’t even ask questions about whom the graves belonged to or why Kakashi was the one to clean them. This engendered a profound gratitude in Kakashi, because he usually spent his time cleaning a gravestone talking with the friends whose names were listed on it. He didn’t want to frighten Naruto, and he knew that he couldn’t be truly open in front of the child. Of course he also knew that if he left without at least trying to talk to his friends or apologize even once to Obito, he would continue feeling anxious until he returned.

After visiting each individual grave, Kakashi generally paid respects to everyone at the monument. 

“Why is this one so much bigger than the others?” Naruto immediately looked as though he regretted asking. Clearly the boy had been trying very hard to be silent, but his curiosity was simply too great to contain. That was fine. Kakashi didn’t mind answering a few questions.

“The others were family gravestones. My family—the Hatake—a friend of mine—the Nohara—and my old teacher—the Namikaze. There is no one else to keep them clean, so I do it. This one isn’t a gravestone, though, it’s a monument for heroes of the village.”

“Heroes?”

“Every name on this stone is a great shinobi who served the village well. A hero.”

“Cool! When I grow up, my name is going to be on this stone, you know! I’m going to be the greatest shinobi in the village and the Hokage and everything, so they’ll have to put my name here.”

Something in Kakashi’s chest seized, cold and tight, but he ignored it. The boy was bragging and he didn’t mean anything prophetic. Calmly, Kakashi explained that the names engraved in the black stone were heroes who had died in service to the village.

“Oh. Died?”

“Yes. Both of my friends and my old teacher—the Fourth Hokage—have their names on this monument.”

“Are those the graves we cleaned before? Where we left the food? Was one of them the Fourth Hokage? I’m supposed to burn this incense for him, you know.” It seemed that once he had permission to ask questions, Naruto couldn’t bear to stop.

“My father’s name is not on this stone, but yes, the other two graves we cleaned were the Fourth Hokage’s and my friend Rin. I thought it might be better for you to burn your incense here, though. This is also a memorial for the Fourth Hokage and I think he would approve the choice.” Kakashi also thought that it would be better that no one reported seeing Naruto burning incense at his father’s grave only a week after Kakashi promised that he would keep the boy’s heritage a secret.

“But if I burn it here, how will the Fourth Hokage know that the incense is for him?”

“Talk to him and tell him so,” Kakashi suggested, sparking a small fire technique in his left hand so that they boy could start the stick.

Dipping the tip of the incense into Kakashi’s flaming hand carefully, Naruto let it burn for a moment, then blew it out and placed the smoking incense in one of the sand-filled urns at the base of the memorial. “Hello, Mister Fourth Hokage—Lord—Sir,” Naruto said awkwardly. “The nice auntie at the shop gave this to me for you. I hope you have good dreams and that death isn’t too boring. If you don’t have anything else to do, you can always watch me. I’m going to be a great ninja like you one day, you know.”

After that, it was almost too natural for Kakashi to continue. “What do you think, Minato-sensei? Will he match you? I’m a little afraid that I won’t be half the teacher you were, but I have your example to follow when I lose my way. Since you know what it’s like to have students and be responsible for children, maybe you’ll be kind enough to intercede for me with Obito. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to visit very much this week, even though I haven’t had a mission. I’m sorry for everything. I know I don’t say it often enough, but I’m so, so sorry. It looks like I’ll be pretty busy for the near future, but I’ll visit as often as I can. I hope that will be all right.”

His friends didn’t answer. They never offered forgiveness when he asked for it. Then, Naruto’s warm hand was in his and the tiny boy was smiling brightly up at Kakashi. “Of course that will be okay with them. They wouldn’t be very good friends if they didn’t want to see you a lot, you know!”


	7. Chapter 7

The Third Hokage was right, routine was important, and Kakashi enjoyed theirs. Every morning Kakashi and Naruto did a little endurance training, ate breakfast, and then Naruto practiced his reading, writing, and arithmetic until it was time to break for lunch. After lunch, they worked on physical skills like weapons, taijutsu, and evading pursuit. If Naruto was too tired to continue, they might take a break for a mid afternoon snack or to play a little with Kakashi’s dogs. 

Then Kakashi had a break. If the weather was sunny, Naruto would go play in the park. If the weather was bad, Naruto would stay in his room to play. Either way, Kakashi had a little time to train on his own and really push his limits without worrying about setting an example the boy couldn’t follow. In the evening they would eat dinner and bathe. Then Naruto would read a little to Kakashi before Kakashi told him a story about the Fourth Hokage. It was idyllic. Naruto was practically the perfect child.

At least he seemed to be until Kakashi had to leave him alone to go get his next assignment from the mission desk. Assuming that just because the boy could take care of himself he was trustworthy alone in Kakashi’s house had been a mistake. Kakashi came home to find the child wrapped in bandages from head to toe, the old medical kit he’d ransacked lying torn and wet in the sink. The water would completely destroy the old leather. Kakashi could hardly see the water through his blurring vision, dripping from the leather to the pale white sink. All he could see was the blood dripping down Rin’s porcelain chin as she said his name one last time. 

“I’m a taijutsu master,” Naruto laughed happily. “Like the one in my book. The bandages are to keep me from hurting myself while I train, you know!”

Kakashi did know. Naruto had inquired about the white wrappings around the hands of one of the characters in one of his books and Kakashi had explained how even Guy had once dressed his hands in such a way. Technically then, this fiasco was Kakashi’s fault. Kakashi was used to being the architect of his own undoing.

“You are not a master of anything,” he said softly, furious. “You are a child with no respect for the personal belongings of others.”

Ignoring the bandages and the broken medicine jar on the floor as lost causes, Kakashi took the little leather case out of the sink and brought it to his room. He dried it as slowly and carefully as he could, trying not to warp the material any more than it already had been. Then he sewed the tear with tiny, invisible stitches. It was better stitch work than Rin had originally used to make the thing, but that depressed Kakashi even further. His work didn’t match hers. He had not cherished the gift she had given him to commemorate his jounin status enough to keep it undamaged. He had never cared for her in the way she would have wanted.

Kakashi didn’t mope. Not the sort of man to be ruled by his feelings, as soon as the little satchel was repaired, he returned to the routine of his evening with Naruto. The bandages had been rolled up sloppily and returned to the medicine cabinet. Silently throwing them away because they hardly qualify as sterile after being dragged along the bathroom floor was only common sense, but he did it mechanically, without showing further signs of his disapproval, and proceeded to make dinner for the boy.

“I’m really sorry, Kakashi,” Naruto said, looking deeply unhappy. “I didn’t mean to make a mess.”

“I forgive you. Don’t worry about it. Eat your dinner.” As the boy obediently picked at his food without complaining, Kakashi addressed the subject that was surely the underlying cause of his misbehavior.

“Now I know you have been caring for yourself for many years, but while I am gone I expect you to follow our routine as you would when I am here.”

“Huh?”

“I will leave you several pages of writing exercises to do in the mornings and I expect to find them completed on my return. You should also work on your accuracy with thrown weapons. It would be nice to see a little improvement there, though this is a short mission and I will only be gone for three days.”

“Three days?” The boy seemed distressed. Perhaps he had been assuming that Kakashi would have a mission closer to the village, something he could accomplish in only a day or two.

“We can put it on your calendar after you finish eating. I also don’t want you to use the stove while I am gone, Naruto. You may use the rice cooker or your electric kettle,” though even that much made Kakashi cringe, “but not the stove. I’ll leave you some money so you can afford to eat out every day that I am gone, but I encourage you to act more frugally. There is plenty of food in the house. Either way, I expect some vegetables to be included in your diet, not just rice and noodles.”

“I thought that’s where you were today while I put away the weapons from our practice,” Naruto said pitifully, his big blue eyes looking hopelessly up at Kakashi.

“I—it was, Naruto. I reported to the mission desk to receive my assignment.” It wasn’t often that Kakashi felt confused enough to show it. Naruto had been excited about Kakashi taking a mission that morning. 

“But I don’t want you to go away.”

“It is my job to go, Naruto.”

“But I want you to stay,” the boy whined. Part of Kakashi wanted to be sympathetic. There was a small voice inside that whispered for him to take Guy’s advice, hold the child close, and find someone else to take his place on the mission roster. His common sense overruled the strange emotion.

“In life, you will find that people often do not behave as you want them to,” Kakashi said firmly. Naruto would not learn strength from a weak man who reacted emotionally to minor outbursts. “I would have preferred that you not destroy a precious memento of mine, but you did.”

“That bag?”

“When living with another person we must learn to accept the differences between our expectations and reality. I will not take missions like the one Guy is on that will keep me away from the village for weeks at a time, but I will not give up missions altogether because you would prefer it.”

Nodding unhappily, Naruto finished the rest of his dinner and then went unbidden to get ready for bed. He looked like a kicked puppy, so Kakashi tried to draw him out again, but even a story about the Fourth Hokage fighting a thousand enemies didn’t do the trick. Still, the boy said he didn’t need anything further and eventually fell asleep, freeing Kakashi to leave the village under the cover of darkness as he preferred.

Kakashi’s mission was supposedly an A-rank, but in reality it was a simple retrieval. High walls, hundreds of guards, and a strong barrier might have made the task a difficult one if anything in the palace had been strong enough to sense Kakashi in the darkness when he wanted to stay hidden. As it was, he slipped in, got the stolen crown, and slipped back out without anyone ever noticing him. Kakashi was the best assassin in Leaf Village, but retrieval missions were a nice change of pace. They were quick, bloodless, and generally easy. Going in alone, he almost always made his way out without fighting at all. The return of the crown was even worth half a million to the earnest country lord who’d lost it, so the pay was actually comparable to an important assassination. 

He tried not to feel guilty that other people, Tenzo and Yuago, probably, were still doing the dirty work in ANBU so that he could keep his hands relatively clean. He tried to to be pleased that Guy would approve of him using his skills to avoid a battle instead of slaughtering downed soldiers. 

It was a mission. How he felt about it didn’t matter one way or another.

Kakashi arrived home in a very good mood four hours before dawn on his target check in day. The chunin on duty made jokes about his newfound punctuality, but Kakashi couldn’t help himself. Being away from Naruto—especially given the way they’d parted—was stressful.

“How’d it go?” The house was in good order and Naruto was sleeping peacefully in his little bed, but Kakashi wanted to hear Pakkun’s report anyway.

“Well Boss. He followed your instructions to the letter and worked hard at his practice. Went to Ichiraku for dinner both days, but you said he would. Seemed unhappy, though. Are you sure you didn’t want him to know that I was here?”

“Positive. I don’t want him to feel that I’m hovering or that I don’t trust him. Trust is rarely given if it is not first received.”

“He seemed lonely, is all. I don’t think he said two words to anyone but Teuchi the whole time you were gone.”

“He didn’t go to the park?”

“No one spoke to him while he was there. I don’t think he plays with them much. He just sat on a swing and looked miserable.”

Considering the problem of Naruto’s forced social isolation, Kakashi again failed to see a clear solution. Once the boy was at the Academy, wiser heads would prevail. His teachers would assign team exercises and Naruto would impress his fellow students with the skills that Kakashi would teach him. Then they would befriend him despite the strictures of their parents. Unfortunately it was a long-term solution, unlikely to yield short-term benefit. Rather than continue to dwell on the issue, Kakashi took the opportunity to catch a few hours of sleep before Naruto woke. The boy was protected, well fed, and learning. Minato-sensei would just have to understand that Kakashi was doing his best.

When Naruto woke he seemed strangely subdued. He obediently ran alongside Kakashi in their usual pre-breakfast endurance training, but he didn’t babble the way he usually would. Breakfast was just as sullen until Kakashi turned his back on the boy for a minute. Then the child hurled his rice bowl to the floor with all of his strength. Uncertain what the boy’s intent was, Kakashi didn’t bother to catch the bowl, preferring to see what Naruto wanted to make happen. Shattering with a crash, the thin ceramic broke into sharp pieces, many of them as small as the spilled rice. Staring at the boy, Kakashi felt completely befuddled.

“Why did you do that, Naruto?”

“I don’t want natto for breakfast,” he said, jutting his little chin out defiantly. “I hate natto. I want ramen.”

“You ate plenty of ramen while I was away. If you are dissatisfied with what I choose to serve you for breakfast, the appropriate way to express that is with words, not broken dishes.”

“I want ramen!” The boy screamed. Kakashi blinked at him. “Ramen!” Naruto screamed again, pounding his hands on the table and turning red. The angry, tearful caterwauling that the boy made as he slammed his fists against the table sounded almost unnatural, but Kakashi didn’t sense any of the demon chakra that would indicate the Fox was the one acting up.

Asking what Minato-sensei would do in such a situation was fruitless. Kakashi couldn’t imagine even Obito behaving so badly. Asking what Kakashi’s own father would have done was just as pointless. Kakashi had already decided that he would never use physical force with Naruto. The Fourth Hokage had not approved of harsh training methods.

Lacking a better response, Kakashi simply said, “This is not the way to get what you want.” Ignoring the boy’s hysterics, he bent to pick up the sharp pieces of the broken bowl.

Naruto did not calm down as Kakashi had dared to hope he might. In fact, his tantrum grew so emphatic that he fell from his stool to the floor, screaming. He didn’t seem to be hurt by the fall, so Kakashi continued to ignore his antics. As a whole, though his emotions seemed real, there was something disingenuous about the crying. When Naruto looked at Kakashi with his soft, stifled, heartbroken tears, the jounin wanted to move heaven and earth to make things better for the child. This wasn’t sadness, and it wasn’t about getting ramen for breakfast.

“In the interest of compromise,” Kakashi said reasonably when he’d finished cleaning up the broken ceramic, “you do not need to have natto for breakfast.”

Naruto stopped screaming. “I want ramen, you know,” he hiccupped, choking down little, half formed sobs.

“You may choose something other than ramen to eat for breakfast,” Kakashi said firmly. “It is not healthy to eat the same food for every meal.”

Kakashi had spent enough time training dogs that he knew not to reward bad behavior. Logically, he should insist that Naruto go hungry or eat what he was given, but the boy had gone hungry too often. It would hardly be effective, and Kakashi couldn’t bring himself to force the issue in that way.

“I want two eggs,” Naruto sobbed and wiped at his running nose with the collar of his shirt.

“A please would be appropriate.”

“Please.”

Kakashi nodded and opened the refrigerator for the eggs. “They’ll be ready when you finish cleaning up. Be sure to wash your face.”

The tantrum was not an isolated incident. Instead of his writing practice, Naruto spent the morning scribbling a dirty poem. When Kakashi asked him to redo it, the boy shredded his papers and threw a fit. When Kakashi insisted they train kunai instead of shuriken, Naruto actually attacked Kakashi with the weapons before laughing and running away. When Kakashi chased him down, which was easy enough, the boy once again resorted to yelling and crying. 

Nor were the tantrums a private display. When it was time to leave the park, Kakashi was treated to the loudest and most violent display of all. Forced to listen to the parents talking about “that boy” and how “even the Copy Ninja can’t control him” while Naruto kicked and punched his leg furiously, Kakashi wanted very much to simply pick the boy up and restrain him. Only the memory of Minato-sensei’s face when someone else disciplined a child in public stayed his hand. So Kakashi waited the tantrum out, calmly reading his book until the boy was tired enough to listen to reason.

Kakashi suspected the tantrums had to be Naruto’s way of punishing Kakashi for going on missions. As such, there was little he could do to stop them until Naruto came to terms with Kakashi’s employment. Unfortunately, it seemed that such acceptance would be slow to come. Even taking a few days off between missions and never leaving for more than a week at a time wasn’t good enough for Naruto. He seemed to spend more time playing stupid pranks and howling about the injustice of simple requests than he did working with Kakashi and doing as he was asked. He had gone from being one of the sweetest, most obedient children Kakashi had ever seen to a little hellion after only three weeks in Kakashi’s care. When he returned from a mission exactly one month to the day after he started taking them on again to find Naruto smearing expensive weapon oil on the walls, Kakashi sighed and settled in for a long haul with the bad behavior.

The pranks were not going to be a passing personality trait—something that Naruto tried on for two weeks the way a fashionable kunoichi might wear a daring coat—which Kakashi too late realized the boy’s sweet disposition and perfect obedience had been. Clearly, Naruto was finished with attempting to impress Kakashi and ingratiate himself. 

It was fortunate then that Kakashi had not taken on the child’s welfare assuming it would be an easy task, though he had been naive enough to hope that the obstacles would come from his own issues and the outside world. Instead it was Naruto stealing, lying, damaging property, and throwing fits five or six times a day whenever Kakashi was in the village that tried his patience. Pakkun reported that the boy was fine if sullen while Kakashi was away, but that was no help because Kakashi was away. 

Kakashi was grateful that he had already increased his training regimen. Frustration needed an outlet, and shinobi were not immune. Beyond that, the physical exhaustion let him fall asleep, which was fortunate, because his dreams had gotten worse. He no longer dreamed only of Rin’s dying word. After the advent of Naruto’s tantrums, he was treated to dreams where the boy took Rin’s place on that fateful day.

As his lightning blade slid into the boy’s little chest, Naruto’s betrayed eyes would morph slowly into Rin’s and her mouth would be the one that formed his name. Kakashi would wake up, having slept an hour at most, fully aware of what he was.

The only reprieve came when Guy was around. Like a dog in an earthquake, he seemed able to sense when Naruto was about to misbehave. Most of the time Guy was even able to derail the boy by changing the subject. He would toss Naruto into the air or start wrestling him until the kid started laughing and the moment passed. Sometimes he would hand the boy one of the numerous sweets that Guy had taken to carrying with him whenever he was in the village. For the first time in their long rivalry, Kakashi was truly jealous of Guy’s ability. What was even more frustrating was that Guy was usually so bad with people. Between the two of them, Kakashi had always been the charming one. He simply watched people more closely than Guy did. 

Acknowledging Guy’s superiority was annoying, but it was nothing compared to dealing with Naruto’s obvious unhappiness. Kakashi felt like he was walking a knife’s edge whenever he was in the village. Sleep deprivation didn’t help. Being home had become as bad as any long-term mission, which left Kakashi feeling dangerous and unpredictable. Feeling that way around Naruto was worse than leaving him alone. 

Finding ten minutes together to read was rare enough that Kakashi ignored the repetitive thunk, thunk, thunk coming from Naruto’s room. The boy was supposed to be practicing his writing, but obviously he was making mischief. Since he never made mischief when Kakashi wasn’t home, it stood to reason that whatever problem was about to occur wouldn’t be an issue until Kakashi opened the door. Kakashi could take five more minutes and finish a chapter before dealing with the boy, but he sighed and got up anyway. Duty wasn’t something you chose. 

“How’s it going in here?” he asked, sliding the door open casually. 

Astoundingly, Naruto was not working on his writing practice. He was leaning back in his chair throwing shuriken straight up, one by one, until they stuck in the ceiling. Grinning insolently, the boy barely turned his head in the direction of the door. “I got bored with writing practice. I wanna practice shuriken now.” 

Obviously he was trying to bait Kakashi with property damage, as he did so often, but in this case he succeeded. Naruto’s last throw had nudged another one of the loosely lodged throwing stars out of the wood and two razor sharp shuriken were dropping down toward the oblivious boy. For a moment, Kakashi actually considered letting them strike. A burned hand learned not to touch fire. If the boy experienced consequences for his actions, perhaps he would learn from them. Kakashi wouldn’t be punishing him, just allowing the Naruto to come to harm. 

Crossing the room in three quick steps, Kakashi snatched the little blades out of the air inches away from the boy’s face. Naruto’s big blue eyes stared up at Kakashi’s hand. The boy’s mouth opened a little, but he didn’t say anything. Kakashi was breathing hard. Much harder than such a short sprint could possibly justify. If he had finished his chapter, the shuriken would have fallen before he opened the door. He would not have seen the danger.

Kakashi slammed his fist hard into the wall, rattling the beam. All sixteen throwing stars dropped out of the ceiling, falling toward the boy like a deadly rain. Kakashi caught them easily between his fingers. Not one made it within six inches of the boy’s skin. 

“You are not allowed to use ninja tools unsupervised. Now continue your writing practice.” 

“You’re trying to kill me!” Naruto screamed, falling out of his chair. “I hate you!” The subsequent screaming fit lasted two hours, involved a great many toys being thrown in Kakashi’s general direction, and only stopped when Guy came by for lunch. The big man pulled one of his dynamic entries, hugging Naruto hello while the boy was mid-shout, and then told him to go wash up. Miraculously the boy stopped crying, returned the hug, and scampered off to obey. 

Dizzy with relief, Kakashi grabbed Guy by the back of his neck and kissed his perfect, brilliant mouth. “How did you do it? How do you always know what to do?”

Guy blinked at him stupidly. “How did you get your mask back up so quickly?”

“There’s a trick to it,” Kakashi said hopefully. “I’ll show you. You first, though.” 

“Kakashi, Naruto is a person. There isn’t a trick to anything I do with him.” 

“Don’t make me torture you.” Kakashi was at the end of his rope, but he wouldn’t really hurt his rival. Probably. Not if Guy responded to threats before that became necessary. 

Guy seemed to understand that he was serious, at least. “Not now,” he said, with a pointed glance at the bathroom door.

Late that night when Naruto was snoring softly in his room, Kakashi cornered Guy again to make him talk. 

“You just have to catch him in the right moment and show him the unlimited affection in your heart,” Guy told him with a broad smile and a thumbs up.

Skeptical as he was, Kakashi wanted to hear more. “What’s his tell? How do you always know when he’s about to lose it?” 

“I don’t watch Naruto,” Guy said, “I watch you.”

“Are you suggesting that I have a subconscious awareness of when the boy is about to make a scene?” Kakashi was sure that he didn’t. Obviously if he’d been thinking logically during the shuriken incident instead of reacting from a place of fear and anger, he could have predicted that morning’s tantrum and circumvented it. Generally, though, he had no clue what would set the boy off.

“No, Kakashi,” Guy sighed. “You need to tell him that you care about him above all things and that you will always strive to return to him. That you love him dearly and it is only honor and respect for his father that keeps you from calling him your son.”

“It’s illegal to tell him who his father is, Guy, so don’t you dare. They might take him away.”

“Kakashi!” Guy looked frustrated, his expressive eyes narrow and annoyed. Kakashi relented a little. 

“Anyway, he knows I’ll never let him come to harm. If he thought I would leave, I doubt he’d be making such a nuisance.”

Dismissing Guy out of hand kept him from trying to push his way further into Kakashi’s life, but Kakashi seriously considered the theory once he was gone. If Naruto wasn’t throwing tantrums to punish Kakashi for leaving, but was instead doing it to test whether or not Kakashi would willingly stay, then Kakashi didn’t see that Guy’s suggested course of action had any merit over his own. Kakashi could prove himself to the boy simply by staying. He didn’t need to fall all over himself emotionally the way Guy would.

Still, he was desperate enough to try it. When he was positive that Guy was out of the village on a long mission, he spent two whole days mimicking the man. Kakashi tried cracking stupid jokes, setting ludicrous goals, and making hyperbolic promises. He gave the kid almost a pound of candy in single pieces, trying to keep him happy. In return, Naruto called him abusive names, told him to stop copying people, and melted down publicly at Ichiraku Ramen, formerly a safe zone.

It was Tenzo who made him aware of the real problem with Naruto’s tantrums. Kakashi’s friend stopped to assist him in a shop when the boy was shrieking because Kakashi had prevented him from shoplifting four different toys. Kakashi would need to work on Naruto’s slight of hand, just as soon as the boy started taking his lessons seriously again. 

Picking up Kakashi’s bags, Tenzo freed his friend to guide Naruto gently into the alleyway where the boy could scream all he liked without disturbing quite as many people.

“He never used to do this sort of thing,” Tenzo observed.

“What do you mean?” Kakashi was able to converse casually with his friend because he did not respond to wailing boys pounding on his feet.

“The boy,” he said, meaning the village demon. “Before you took him in, he never caused a problem.”

“He had a lot of problems caused for him.”

“I’m just asking if you think he’s happy this way.”

Kakashi was a person who valued his comrades and their feelings more than anything, so he did not childishly ask what a clone grown in a lab by a mad scientist and raised by the Foundation could possibly know about a happy childhood. Instead, he thanked his former subordinate for his assistance and warned him that no one would ever hear from him again if he repeated his concerns to the Hokage.

“Of course I won’t repeat our private conversation, Senpai,” the off duty ANBU said earnestly. “But you can’t imagine that the Hokage hasn’t come to the same conclusion. The boy’s antics are the talk of the village.”

“Stop talking about me,” demanded Naruto, pounding on Kakashi’s boot even harder with his little fists. “Pay attention to me!”

“Very well,” Kakashi said, considering his options. Using genjutsu on a civilian in front of a current member of ANBU was a bad idea. Candy didn’t work for him the way it did for Guy. He wasn’t going to hit Naruto. In reality, he didn’t have that many options. “If you do not stop this foolishness right now, I will not tell you a story at bedtime tonight.”

As a punishment it was a self-defeating one. Kakashi enjoyed the story exchange as much—if not more than—Naruto did. Bedtime also happened to be a rare, magical period when Naruto almost never threw a tantrum. Kakashi was jeopardizing that peace, but he hoped that phrasing the punishment as a consequence might convince the boy to see reason. He did not have many other options as far as punitive measures went. Refusing to strike the child or deny him food precluded almost all the measures commonly used among shinobi children, and Kakashi had no personal experience from his own childhood to draw on. 

“You will tell me a story,” Naruto insisted, screaming. “I want to hear a story right now!”

With no real options left, Kakashi waited glumly for the boy to scream himself out in the shadows of the alley. Punishment was unlikely to work, he knew. It never did with dogs, at any rate. With less complicated minds, the root cause of a behavior had to be found and corrected. Punishment was just a meaningless, added cruelty, that the animal couldn’t understand. The problem was the Kakashi didn’t understand Naruto. He needed better advice. Preferably from an expert, if he could find one.

Being a tactical genius wasn’t always a blessing. Naruto was exhausted when he finished crying himself out. Kakashi said goodbye to Tenzo and carried the boy home, where Naruto went back to being his definition of good. The boy was the one to suggest cleaning up. He wanted to set the table and help Kakashi in the kitchen. He asked if they could take a bath together as long as he washed up well and brushed his teeth first. Then he chose one of his most difficult books—one with hardly any pictures—to read to Kakashi before bed, even after Kakashi reminded him that there would be no story as a reward.

Naruto read very well, trying hard and not stuttering at all, but when he finished he looked up at Kakashi with wide, pleading eyes. “Will you please tell me a story, Kakashi?”

Temptation was the worst when Kakashi had a logical reason to give in. It would be so easy to pretend that he was rewarding the boy for good behavior and not hiding from the threat of another tantrum. “We have been living together for almost four months, Naruto. I wish you would realize that I can be trusted.”

“I wish you would tell me the one about the Raikage again and how they are both so fast, but the Fourth Hokage was the fastest.”

“I keep my word, Naruto. I said I would not tell you a story if you continued to behave badly and I will not.”

“I want a story.” The threat was very plain, which made it much easier for Kakashi to stick to his principles than if the boy had continued to be sweet.

“If you are good, I will tell you the story of the Hokage’s fight with the Raikage tomorrow night.”

“Tonight! I want a story tonight!” the boy yelled.

“Goodnight, Naruto. Sweet dreams.” Kakashi did not ask if the child had everything he needed before shutting the light off and sliding the door closed behind him. He could hear the sound of toys being thrown in the dark and pages being torn out of books. The screaming seemed to go on for hours while Kakashi stood vigil on the other side of the door, reminding himself yet again that putting a child under a genjutsu was completely immoral. 

When it finally subsided he slipped into the room to see the damage. Everything that could be wrecked by an angry five year old had been completely destroyed. All of his books had been torn to shreds, the sheets were pulled from his little bed, and his clothes had been dumped out of the dresser. It looked like the child had collapsed mid-tantrum, and he was fast asleep in the center of a scattering of broken toys on the floor.

Silently, Kakashi remade the bed and tucked Naruto in gently. Cleaning up the mess would have to wait until the boy could help, but Kakashi gathered up anything that looked sharp or dangerous and threw it away. After summoning Pakkun to guard the boy in his absence, Kakashi left in search of an expert.


	8. Chapter 8

Shikaku Nara was a renowned strategist. Respected by the Third as well as the Fourth Hokage, the man managed to beat Kakashi at shoji about half of the time. More importantly, he had a son Naruto’s age. Kakashi found him in a bar, a little drunk, but not so lost that he didn’t greet his fellow jounin with a smile and the offer of a drink.

“Not tonight, Mister Nara, thank you.”

“Mister Nara? You must want something from me.”

“Yes. Your help.”

“Ah.” Shikaku took a slow drag on his cigarette and watched the smoke for a long moment. “I was wondering when you would come to me, but I’m the wrong choice. I don’t know anything about tailed beasts and that’s not your problem anyway. The problem is the boy, but Shikamaru never had fits like that—not even in his terrible twos. You should talk to a teacher or a doctor or someone like that.”

“They will assume that it has more to do with the demon than the child. I need someone smart enough to know better.”

“Smart enough to ignore the demon, eh? Sounds troublesome.”

“Sorry to bother you. I know it isn’t as though you owe the boy any kind of debt.”

“Something like my life, village, and family? Fine. I’ll help, but I’m terrible with children. Probably worse than you are. I can’t even handle Shikamaru most of the time. Still, you might as well bring him over to the house tomorrow so that I can observe the behavior.”

Surprisingly, Naruto didn’t throw another tantrum when he woke up in the morning to be reminded that most of his possessions were irreparably damaged. Instead he helped Kakashi clean the mess up after breakfast with minimal complaining. “It was time for me to get you some higher-level books anyway,” Kakashi said, trying to lessen the impact.

While he didn’t want to seem to be rewarding the boy’s rages, Kakashi also didn’t want Naruto to keep staring listlessly at his broken toys either. Unfortunately, the promise of new books wasn’t enough to turn him into the happy, carefree child that Kakashi was occasionally known to feel fond of. “Instead of writing practice today, we’ll be going to visit a friend of mine. We might even stay for lunch.”

“I have to practice reading and writing so I can get into the Academy and be a ninja.” Naruto’s obsession with scheduling had ended around the time his pranking had begun. Kakashi couldn’t believe that he would thrown a fit over missing his least favorite activity. Still, strategically seizing the initiative decided many a battle.

“Shikaku has a son your age,” Kakashi said, a little desperately. “His name is Shikamaru. The two of you can play together while I talk with his father.”

Just like that, the sullen, unhappy boy was gone. “Really?” Naruto’s eyes were wide and hopeful. Kakashi had watched the other children at the park turn away from him or bully him many times. He was sure that Shukaku would not have demanded his son act that way, though. If the boy was at home, the children could play.

“I promise,” Kakashi said without hesitation. If Shikamaru was spending the day elsewhere, Naruto could demonstrate the way his temper tantrums worked the moment they arrived at Shukaku’s home. Kakashi wouldn’t feel guilty. They had to deal with the behavior. Tenzo’s warning hadn’t been an idle one.

Fortunately, Shikamaru was there, lying on the grass in front of the house and waiting for them to arrive. “You’re Mister Kakashi and Naruto, right? It’s a pain, but my dad said I had to greet you when you arrived. He’s hungover from drinking too much last night and he’s still in the bath.”

“Thank you, Shikamaru. It was very kind of you to wait for us out here.”

“Eh. I like to watch the clouds.”

“Do you wanna play ninja?” Naruto asked in the most rushed, awkward way possible. Kakashi cringed inwardly.

Shikamaru yawned. “Sure,” he said, “but I get to hide first.” Kakashi envisioned the lazy boy slipping off and falling asleep instead of setting a trap as the game required, but he could hardly say anything with Naruto bouncing up and down gleefully.

“Okay! Kakashi, do you want to play too?”

“Grown ups don’t play ninja.”

“My big brother does! He’s really good at it, you know!”

Shikamaru looked Kakashi up and down, apparently deciding that he was a genuine shinobi. “You can play if you want,” he said. “My dad will probably take forever getting ready.”

“Sure,” Kakashi said easily. “Since I’m a grownup, you two can both hide and be a two man cell.”

“You’re a real ninja,” Shikamaru said warily. “We need more of an advantage than that.”

Laughing, Kakashi pulled his forehead protector down over both of his eyes. “How about I play blindfolded?”

Shikamaru agreed that this seemed fair, and Kakashi heard the boys running off as soon as he began counting. Knowing Naruto’s scent the way he did made sightlessness far less of a disadvantage than it would normally be. Neither of the boys were exactly masters of silent killing, either. Shikamaru made more noise than a man twice his size when he ran and Naruto kept snickering quietly.

Playing it up just as he usually did with Naruto, Kakashi held his hands out in front of him and dutifully searched where he knew the boy was not. “Is there a boy in these bushes?” he called, half falling into the plant. “What about under here?” He lifted a boulder that would surely have crushed either boy. “Where could those boys be?”

Following the sound of Naruto’s laughter, Kakashi heard the twang of their trap. Wires shot stones—one of Naruto’s favorites—and Kakashi dodged them easily, even when he could only feel the way they hissed past displacing the air. Then he felt it. A small loop of wire pulled tight around his boot. He hadn’t even felt it slip up over his toes.

“Good work,” he said, surprised. In order to get such a trap in place, the children would have needed to predict exactly how Kakashi would dodge the stones.

“Aha!” Naruto cheered. “That was awesome, Shikamaru! No one ever catches Kakashi in a trap, you know. Not even Mister Guy!”

“There’s no time to stand around congratulating ourselves, run! He only has to count to thirty this time.”

“Oh, right!”

Scampering away laughing, the boys darted for their next hiding place. Kakashi slipped his foot out of the snare and dutifully counted as slowly as possible. Just as Kakashi finished counting and began looking for his quarry, he heard Naruto’s laughter stop abruptly and the distinct sound of a tree branch snapping. Vaulting over a fallen log, Kakashi sprinted to them and caught Shikamaru gently before he hit the ground. Reaching up blindly until he felt the soft fabric of Naruto’s t-shirt, he plucked the boy from the tree like a ripe plum. “Caught you,” he said cheerfully, hoping neither child would be too alarmed by the near miss.

“Uh, yeah,” Shikamaru said, shaking himself a little as Kakashi put both boys safely on the ground. “Are you really blindfolded right now?”

Kakashi laughed. “I’m not cheating, I promise. This is actually pretty useful practice for me.”

“Kakashi’s a really strong ninja, you know,” Naruto bragged. “Now go hide. I bet we can find you right away.”

Laughing again, Kakashi darted away from the children and filled the yard and the edge of the woods with a few dozen clones before hiding behind one of the larger trees. Naruto had seen the trick before and Kakashi regretted that he could only listen as the boy dealt with it using his usual approach. Still, the soft grunts and little chuckles as Naruto tackled each clone only to pass through the illusion and hit the grass instead were amusing enough. Kakashi enjoyed tracking the boy so much that he almost missed the stone hurtling toward his head, dodging at the last possible second.

“Ha!” Shikamaru crowed in triumph, rushing forward. “A clone wouldn’t need to dodge!”

“No,” Kakashi agreed, grabbing the boy’s shadow with the classic Nara technique. “Clones don’t spring traps, either.”

“Hey—you can’t—my dad said only our family could do this.”

“Now you know why they call him the Copy Ninja,” Shikaku said from the direction of the house.

Releasing the boy, Kakashi uncovered his ordinary eye, leaving his forehead protector at its usual jaunty angle. “Good morning. Sorry to trouble you so early.”

“Not at all,” the man said with an exaggerated yawn. “Come sit.”

Kakashi ruffled Naruto’s hair and told the boys to have fun. Since Shikaku had agreed to help him, Kakashi didn’t really care if he did it gracelessly.

Sitting on the porch with a shogi board between them, the two shinobi carried on a light conversation and watched the boys play. Naruto had his usual limitless energy, but Shikamaru made up for the difference in their temperaments by hiding expertly. He could usually rest a long time while Naruto scampered up trees and dashed around the huge yard searching for him.

“You’ll be twenty-one this year, won’t you Kakashi?”

“Twenty-two.”

“And Naruto’s turning six like Shikamaru. Not much of an age gap for a father figure, is it?”

Kakashi sighed. “I have considered that he simply doesn’t respect my authority, but I’ve been commanding men three times my age since I was not much older than Naruto is now. I know how to give an order.”

“No doubt. He calls you Kakashi, though?”

“Sometimes he refers to me as his older brother. Not too often. The adoption is really just a legal arrangement.”

“An older brother, eh? Well your ages make that more likely. Still, you’ve adopted him, you are technically his father. Why not have him address you with proper respect?”

“Answering questions about my reluctance to take that path is illegal.”

Shikaku snorted and put Kakashi’s king in check. “It’s a stupidly necessary law. When I told him to meet you, Shikamaru called Naruto the weird kid that no one is allowed to talk to. At least if parents aren’t allowed to explain the prohibition to their children, the kids might give the boy a chance when they’re at school together.”

Kakashi took Shikaku’s bishop and freed his king from the danger it represented. “It’s hard on him, only having me or Guy to play with. We both leave the village fairly often as well, though my missions usually only last a day or two.”

“Well, Shikamaru seems to like him, so he’s always welcome here. Though I don’t think that their temperaments make them quite the match that Shikamaru and Choji are.”

“Choji Akimichi? I’m sure there was no parental matchmaking there.”

“Surprisingly no. Shikamaru’s just so lazy that he found the slowest, least active kid he could to spend time with. I worry about him. He’ll never make it as a ninja if he doesn’t put in the work.”

“Anyway, you haven’t seen Naruto’s temper yet,” Kakashi joked, conceding defeat in the game. Checkmate was still six moves away, but there was nothing he could do to avoid it.

“Not yet,” Shikaku agreed, setting up the board for another game. “But if the talk around the village can be believed, I’m sure that we don’t have long to wait.”

Kakashi would have liked to argue in Naruto’s defense, but the truth was that the boy was already overdue for a prank or something similar. It was a very rare day when Kakashi didn’t see one before lunchtime. Still, the two boys continued to play happily as Kakashi managed to beat Shikaku in their second game. After a third game, which came out as a draw, Shikaku called the boys in for lunch.

Naruto was good about going to wash up with Shikamaru, and the boys worked well together setting the table while Kakashi helped Shikaku get lunch together. It was mostly cold rice balls and salads. Apparently, Shikamaru’s mother was the cook in the family and she was away on a mission. Possibly the unappealing fare was what set Naruto off. One minute he was fine and Kakashi was sharing a joke with Shikaku. The next minute Naruto had eggs from the fridge that he was attempting to juggle for Shikamaru’s benefit. Kakashi sighed and took them away. Then Naruto started screaming about ramen and throwing a plate across the room.

Kakashi caught it before it broke, naturally. He usually refrained from acknowledging the boy’s tantrums at all, but he could not allow Naruto to damage someone else’s property. Naruto grabbed another plate from the table, and Shukaku took it out of his hands before it could be thrown. Without looking at the boy he told Kakashi, “You can go now.”

Surprised and a little upset—it wasn’t like any damage had been done—Kakashi gave Shikaku a look that clearly indicated they would speak again. “Very well. Naruto, we are no longer welcome here. Come along.”

Naruto began to wail even louder, but Shikaku did not raise his voice to speak over the din. “No,” he said, “The boy can stay. From what I hear, you have to deal with more than your fair share of this. Take a break. Go.”

Shikaku made a hand signal emphasizing the order, but Kakashi continued to hesitate. Naruto was angry. His tears did not come from pain or true distress, but it went against Kakashi’s instincts to leave him alone while he was crying. Still, he had come to Shikaku for advice because the man was a capable tactician. He probably wanted confirmation of the root cause. Wordlessly, Kakashi gave in and followed his lead. He didn’t go far, of course, just to the roof where he could keep an eye on the proceedings without influencing anyone’s behavior.

“Congratulation,” Shikaku said heartlessly. “You’ve achieved your goal and made the only person in the world who might care if you live or die leave you. You knew he would.”

Kakashi seriously considered ignoring the man’s years of experience and just tolerating the bad behavior. He was hurting Naruto. That couldn’t be allowed. If the village tried to take Naruto away as a result, Kakashi just wouldn’t let them. 

“Dad!” Shikamaru sounded panicked. “He’s lying, Naruto. He told Kakashi to go; Kakashi didn’t want to. My dad even made a hand sign.”

“Now Shikamaru, don’t patronize him just because you don’t have many friends. Naruto knows the truth, don’t you boy? Kakashi left because Naruto misbehaved. A boy like him could never be good enough to keep the Copy Ninja’s interest. It’s a mystery why Kakashi has tolerated him this long.”

“Stop lying,” Shikamaru shouted, but it didn’t matter because Naruto’s wailing broke with a small, anguished sob. Kakashi was at the boy’s side instantly. He no longer cared for Shikaku’s assistance—not if Naruto was really hurting. Maybe Guy was the one to listen to after all. 

Kneeling at the boy’s side, Kakashi apologized. “I’m sorry, Naruto. I should have stayed.”

Throwing his arms around Kakashi’s neck, Naruto continued to cry almost silently, making tiny, heartbroken gasps for air. It was rare for either of them to initiate physical contact, but Naruto’s tears were soaking the cloth of Kakashi’s mask and there was very little that Kakashi would not have done to comfort the boy. Wrapping his arms around the child was the most natural thing in the world. “I’m sorry,” he repeated, holding him tightly.

“Why?” Naruto’s voice was high and broken and utterly heartrending. “Why do you always go away every time?”

Kakashi was taken aback and tried to parse the childish logic. “I’ve never left when you were throwing a tantrum before today, Naruto.”

It was apparently the wrong thing to say. Naruto burst into tears again, burying his face back against the crook of Kakashi’s neck.

“Think it through genius,” Shikaku said callously.

Shamefully, Kakashi enjoyed the flush of anger that raced through his veins at the older man’s words. “You hurt him.” Anger was concrete, unlike the confusing uncertain feeling that he had failed Naruto in some serious, irreparable way.

Shikamaru was smart—smarter than his father. When he heard the threat in Kakashi’s voice, he dove into the corner behind the refrigerator and pulled the heavy door open behind him to use as a shield. His father foolishly stepped toward Kakashi with an accusation on his lips. “You hurt him. Daily. Think.”

Of course Kakashi did. Even if he would rather flinch away, take comfort in his anger, and punish a scapegoat, Kakashi never stopped thinking. It was his curse. He thought about Naruto’s words and Shikaku’s. He thought about the timing of the first tantrum, coming as it did after his first mission away and the first time he was angry with the boy. He thought about the fact that Guy could predict Naruto’s behavior by watching Kakashi for signs of coolness.

“I’m sorry,” he said again. It felt inadequate. It was inadequate. “I don’t mean to make you feel lonely, that’s just the kind of person I am. This sort of thing doesn’t come naturally to me, but I’ll try harder. I’ll pay closer attention to you.”

If Kakashi hoped that his offer would make the boy calm down and feel better, then he was overly optimistic. But then, Kakashi always seemed to fail at cheering Naruto up. The boy clung to him even more and continued to cry. “Please. There must be something that I can do to make you happy. Tell me how you want us to live our lives. We’ll live any way you choose, even if I have to stop being a ninja to be your full time caretaker.”

“You have to be a ninja,” Naruto answered finally, hiccupping. “Mister Guy says you’re the best one.”

“I’ll quit tonight,” Kakashi swore. “If the Hokage will see me. I’ll buy an apron and everything. Then I can always be at home with you. You won’t have to be lonely when I am away.”

“But if you don’t go on missions then the bad guys might win, Kakashi!” Naruto seemed genuinely concerned and the tears stopped overflowing from his big, blue eyes.

“That doesn’t matter.” Believing the tantrums were a punishment for his leaving, Kakashi had stubbornly insisted on continuing. Since most of his experience was with dogs and adult subordinates, Kakashi had assumed Naruto was struggling for dominance. Knowing that the pranks were just an attention seeking symptom of loneliness and the enduring legacy of Naruto’s early life made his course of action obvious. “My duty to you will always come first, Naruto, before anything else. You are the only family I have.”

“Kakashi!” Naruto hit his shoulder, but he clearly wasn’t upset anymore. ”You can’t let the bad guys win!”

“If they come to the village or attack you, I promise to fight them.” Kakashi smiled hopefully. Naruto’s scolding was almost playful.

“No! You’re a big hero, you know. You have to go out and be a hero so that I can go with you when I’m a ninja, too.”

“If that’s what you want,” Kakashi said slowly. That seemed to be the right answer because Naruto was smiling, though he still hadn’t released Kakashi from the hug. Looking to Shikaku, Kakashi tried to signal that he still had no idea what he was doing. Any advice from the strategist would, of course, be seriously weighed before Kakashi did anything that might hurt Naruto again, but he was willing to listen.

“You’re making it complicated, genius,” the older shinobi said, rolling his eyes. “It really isn’t. He’s a five year old.”

“Don’t you talk to my big brother like that,” Naruto said, but he was still smiling.

Kakashi was an idiot, not a genius. Guy of all people had seen through the problem before he did. “That’s right, Naruto. We’re a family. No one will ever separate us. Not without killing me to do it.”

Petting Kakashi’s hair with a sweaty little hand, Naruto laughed. “You’re so silly, Kakashi. No one could kill you. You’re the strongest.”

The last thing Kakashi wanted to do was dispute the point and potentially set off another emotional rollercoaster. “Right,” he said, rising to his feet but keeping his hold on the little boy. Usually Kakashi argued with Guy when he carried Naruto around. The boy was perfectly capable of walking under his own power and he needed to learn independence. However, it felt natural to carry Naruto to the bathroom. “You need to wash up again before lunch.”

Sitting Naruto on the edge of the sink, Kakashi wiped his face clean with a warm washcloth. Somehow, leaving the boy to do it alone felt wrong. When Naruto jerked the cloth out of Kakashi’s hands, though, he let it go. “I’m a big kid,” the boy said, blowing his nose loudly.

“Yes. You are.”

Naruto hopped down from the sink by himself, all smiles, then he froze.

“What’s wrong?”

“Shikamaru,” the boy said, looking deeply unhappy. “He’s going to think I’m a crybaby now. He won’t want to play with me anymore even though he said I was pretty fun before.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Shikamaru said, leaning against the doorframe and looking awkward. “I think my dad is a bully and no excuse for a man—he was mean to you on purpose—but I don’t blame you.”

“Eh,” Kakashi began, thinking he should probably defend Shukaku’s actions to his son, since the man had technically done the favor Kakashi came for. “He was trying to help us. He did help us.”

“He didn’t have to make Naruto cry like that.” There was steel in Shikamaru’s voice when he spoke, the sort that had no place in the spine of a five year old. Kakashi could see something of himself in the child for a moment, but then it was gone and the kid was back to looking around awkwardly without meeting anyone’s eyes. “Can I use the toilet, though?”


	9. Chapter 9

Unfortunately, even after confronting Naruto’s fear of abandonment, the sweet, perfect obedience did not return. Three and a half months after rescuing the boy in an alley, Kakashi finally got to know his little prankster. Bouncing, climbing, questioning, exploring, racing, and playing constantly, the kid refused to sit still for a moment. He would listen to Kakashi, but simple orders were out of the question, and the dream of straightforward obedience was a thing of the past.

No, Naruto would only obey after Kakashi answered five or six questions and explain his request to the boy’s complete satisfaction. While he no longer threw screaming fits, he was still stubborn enough to cross his arms and refuse to move until Kakashi provided a sufficiently motivating reason for an unpleasant task. It could be nearly as exhausting as the violent rages, though it was less emotionally taxing. After all, Kakashi tacitly approved of a boy questioning authority and thinking for himself, and he had to admit that some of the boy’s antics were pretty funny. He couldn’t remember the time Naruto traded clothes with Pakkun and used a clumsy transformation jutsu to pretend to be one of the ninken without laughing a little. Still, keeping such an active child entertained was difficult, and Kakashi didn’t want to overtax his Nara resources too quickly. Luckily he had other assets to tap.

“Guy should be back from his mission today.” Those were magic words. They said that Kakashi would actually have three minutes to train unhindered by Naruto’s constant demands for attention. They said that the boy would have an opportunity to burn off some of his energy without Kakashi needing to play along. They said that Kakashi might even get to have an afternoon nap.

“Hooray!” Naruto shouted, running around the room waving his writing practice in the air like a winner’s banner. As things settled for the boy, he had stopped using his wall calendar to keep perfect track of every single event in his life. It still recorded Kakashi’s return dates, but little else.

“You have to finish your writing practice, but we can go find him before lunch if you want.” Kakashi braced himself for a repeat of that morning’s argument that Naruto’s writing was good enough and he didn’t need to practice it half as much as he needed to play outside while pretending to practice ninja skills. Fortunately, Naruto had apparently been convinced by Kakashi’s earlier assertion that he would never pass the Academy Entrance Exam writing at his current standard. The boy crashed into the little desk that Kakashi had set up for him in the living room—because minimizing the number of distractions surrounding him had a demonstrable effect on Naruto’s attention span—and bent over his worksheet diligently.

Gratefully, Kakashi opened his book to read a little, only to be interrupted after three pages by Naruto showing off his progress. If Naruto didn’t stop to show Kakashi each and every completed row, then the boy would finish his work in half an hour, but he refused to understand when Kakashi tried to explain the concept of working independently. Apparently, Naruto had had more than enough of independence. When Kakashi was in the village, Naruto wanted as much of his attention as he could get. Understanding the underlying reasons for Naruto’s somewhat unreasonable demands made Kakashi willing to capitulate, but he was happier when Guy was in town to share the load.

“What are you going to challenge Mister Guy with?” Naruto asked, even though he still had three pages to complete before they could go looking for Kakashi’s rival.

“Rock, Paper, Scissors,” Kakashi said hopefully. “Luck is an important part of a shinobi’s skill set and—“

“Kakashi! You chose that last time it was your turn to pick! Mister Guy is your Eternal Rival! You can’t just pick the same thing all of the time, you know! Put some thought into it.”

“A calligraphy challenge, then,” Kakashi teased. “You can be the judge if you stop writing ‘blood’ so that it reads ‘plate’.”

Blushing, Naruto quickly corrected his practice sheet. “No. You have to challenge him to something good, Kakashi.”

“What about a shooting match with traditional bows and arrows,” Kakashi tried, thinking that it would go pretty quickly and take less energy than most of the challenges Naruto might find worthy of approval. “Almost no one uses them anymore, but we still have a few in the armory and one never knows when an obscure martial skill will come in handy.”

“Why doesn’t anyone use bows and arrows anymore?”

“Because a good shinobi can throw a kunai with the same force that an old fashioned bow fires an arrow and a great shinobi can throw nine at once. Not to mention that any shinobi worth his salt can dodge an arrow. Most ranged experts either use jutsu that mimic arrows but are more powerful, or they practice throwing a lot of ninja tools at once.”

“Then why would knowing how to shoot a bow and arrow be useful?”

“Suppose you had to fight a salamander monster with acid coated skin that you didn’t want to touch while low on chakra so you couldn’t use ninjutsu and the only weapon at hand was an old bow and arrow.”

“Oh yeah,” Naruto said. “Then you would be really glad that you’d practiced shooting with Mister Guy.”

The saving grace of Naruto’s constant demand for answers was that he would usually accept any answer Kakashi gave him provided it fit with his sense of the world. At his age, Kakashi would have suggested that fighting giant salamanders—or anything with acid covering its body—was not likely to come up and even in the outlined circumstances an old bow and arrow was still not likely to be the most effective weapon to hand. Fortunately, Naruto lived in a simpler world, and Guy would accept any challenge Kakashi had to offer, particularly if it involved a military skill of some kind.

All of this meant that Kakashi and Naruto could grab a few bows from Kakashi’s weapons shed, head over to Guy’s, and spend at most half an hour in an archery contest that should be easily won since Guy probably hadn’t touched a bow since the academy. After lunch, which Guy could probably be tricked into providing, Kakashi could find a nice shady tree to relax under while Guy and Naruto ran around punching posts, doing pushups, and generally being far too energetic for normal people. It was Kakashi’s ideal afternoon.

Of course, Kakashi had forgotten while making plans that his life tended to be nothing more than a series of disappointments.

“Rival!” Guy shouted vigorously. “I see that you are here to challenge me and I accept! I will best you in any competition no matter how difficult!” If Kakashi were a little crueler, he might have taken his friend at his word, despite the bags under his eyes and the cast on his right arm.

“Nah,” Kakashi said easily. “Naruto and I were just going to drop these off and ask if you could hold on to them for me. I’m low on space in my armory.”

“But you were gonna shoot arrows, you know!” Naruto complained. “I wanted to watch you!”

“Naruto.”

Kakashi’s voice was stern enough that the boy actually obeyed. “Another day,” he said moodily.

“Oho!” Guy laughed, heartily enough that it had to be causing him pain in his bandaged ribs. “You think I cannot beat you in something as simple as archery one handed, Rival? Your overconfidence will be your undoing!”

“Get some rest, Guy. It’s no victory for me if I can’t face you at your best.”

“Well, then, Naruto, perhaps you would like to train with me for a while.” Guy winked broadly at Kakashi, still making a show of good humor. “Let your guardian get a little reading done.”

Naruto looked hopefully up at Kakashi, but the boy’s heart was decent enough that the jounin didn’t even need to shake his head. “Thanks Mister Guy,” he said sulkily, “but we should let you rest ‘cause you’re hurt.”

Guy looked astonished by the suggestion. “What this? A mere scratch. You will find, Naruto, when you are a fully fledged shinobi, that doctors are often overzealous in their treatments.”

Protesting that he was fine when he was inches from death was hardly unusual for Guy. He was the sort of man who believed that showing injury was just as bad as admitting defeat. Normally, Kakashi would leave him to rest and recover in private, which was certainly what Kakashi wanted whenever he was injured, but there was an unvoiced plea behind Guy’s laughing eyes. It seemed that, like Naruto, he didn’t always want to be left alone. 

“No running around,” Kakashi said. “No one handed pushups, no punching anything, and definitely no letting him pick you up or throw you. You will practice throwing shuriken and Guy will correct your form. If you manage to hit a target ten times in a row, Guy can direct you on how to use the bow. But Guy, you have to promise not to demonstrate or try to use your injured arm. Am I making myself clear?”

“You don’t get to give me orders, Rival,” Guy said moodily. It was a reasonable complaint. If Kakashi wanted something, he usually took the trouble to manipulate his friend. Guy was happy enough to bend over backward entirely against his own self-interest to do anything Kakashi wanted if it was properly phrased. In this case, though, it was more important to be clear.

“I get to give Naruto orders and I’m ordering him home if things get out of hand. Naruto, Guy likes to think he’s invincible, but he isn’t. Don’t let him delay his healing, or injure himself further.”

Naruto saluted. “I’ll protect him, you know!”

“Naruto doesn’t let me do anything,” Guy growled. His frustration at being injured probably compounded his dislike of being treated as an inferior by Kakashi, so Kakashi pulled out the big guns.

“Please, Guy,” he said honestly, allowing a hint of the very real concern he felt to show in his eye. “I really could use your help watching Naruto for an hour or two. I have to run to the grocery store, but I can’t come back here to find out that you’ve exacerbated your injuries while doing me a favor. I can’t.” Kakashi stepped in close, so that he could feel Guy’s radiant body heat and tilted his head to give the impression that he was looking up at his rival. If the tremor of vulnerability in his voice was wildly exaggerated, it worked like a charm.

Wide-eyed Guy agreed to Kakashi’s terms instantly. “Fear not, Rival! Your fierce protector will watch over me while you are away and ensure that I do not come to harm.”

“That’s right, Kakashi!” Naruto said happily. “And I’m sure Mister Guy knows all sorts of great tricks for throwing shuriken, so don’t be surprised if I can shoot all the arrows and kill all kinds of giant, oozing, really gross monsters by the time you get back.”

Smiling magnanimously, Kakashi bolted away and left them to it. A big shopping trip followed by spending almost two hours cooking a meal he didn’t particularly enjoy in someone else’s kitchen wasn’t exactly what Kakashi had planned for his afternoon, but it was worth it. When Guy and Naruto came in to the taijutsu master’s apartment, Guy’s eyes lit up and his hidden exhaustion seemed to vanish completely.

“Rival,” he said, with quiet warmth that made Kakashi feel unreasonably smug. “You really did go to the grocery store.”

“Are you suggesting that I would tell you—my Eternal Rival—a half truth?” Kakashi asked innocently, toying with a ladle.

Chuckling as his voice dropped an octave, Guy murmured, “Only if you thought it was for the best.”

“Hm. So you’re admitting that I know what’s best.”

“I like this side of you. A caretaker. It suits you.” Kakashi had a strange vision of himself wearing a white apron and handing brown paper bag lunches to Guy and Naruto as they left for the day. It didn’t suit him at all. Between the two of them, Guy was the one who was meant to wear an apron. That was a thought. Guy wearing an apron, on the other hand, a pink frilly thing with long strings that Kakashi could wrap around his wrists. It was an intriguing image.

Tugging at Kakashi’s shirt, Naruto asked if lunch was ready. “I really worked up an appetite with all of my training, you know!”

Without jerking away or betraying his surprise, Kakashi smoothed his face into an expressionless mask and started putting plates of the rich brown curry together. It was Guy’s favorite comfort food and a nice gesture from a friend who knew the man couldn’t cook, nothing more.

Flirting with Guy was unbelievably dangerous. Kakashi had always been careful to keep his affairs impersonal, and Guy was built to cross boundaries. It was hard enough to keep the man at arm’s length as a friend. Before Naruto, Kakashi had been careful to avoid sharing meals with him or accepting too many invitations to spar. He didn’t think about Guy that way. Beyond that, Kakashi liked Guy and he didn’t want to be cruel. Guy probably fell in love the way other people asked for a date. Everything with Guy needed to be grandiose, Eternal Rivals and Fierce Protectors. One day, Kakashi was sure there would be a Beloved Helpmeet and Kakashi wasn’t ready for the apron lifestyle, no matter who was wearing it. Letting Guy fixate on him would be a waste of the big lug’s time and it would probably break his heart to boot. He deserved better. He deserved so much better than Kakashi.

Listening to Guy and Naruto chatter it almost seemed as though nothing important had happened, but Kakashi knew better. Those dark eyes followed Kakashi even as Guy was explaining why a hearty curry was superior to any soup when a shinobi wasn’t feeling one hundred percent. The worst part was, Kakashi didn’t even know why he’d decided to flirt. It had to have been a conscious decision, because Kakashi didn’t act on impulse, but he didn’t actually remember thinking it through. Sure, he was exhausted and had been looking forward to a chance to relax, but mild fatigue didn’t give him an excuse to try to get into the pants of the nearest convenient target.

Kakashi wasn’t completely pathetic, however, and knowing that Guy would inevitably be hurt by a deeper connection with a man like him would be enough to keep him from doing anything truly stupid. He wouldn’t flirt again, and that would be the end of it. Maybe it would take a while, but with no encouragement, Guy would forget about a fleeting smile and a strangely worded tease. He would stop looking at Kakashi like dessert eventually.

“You know Naruto, if Kakashi says it’s okay, I might have a little ice cream in the freezer.”

“At lunch, Guy?” Kakashi should refuse on principle, but reading too much into the hint of flirtation in Guy’s expression was equally problematic. It might be better to act oblivious, as if he’d already forgotten the earlier exchange. Maybe Kakashi really was reading too much into the incident. Maybe Guy wasn’t really trying to flirt. Maybe Naruto didn’t even want any ice cream.

“Oh please, oh please, oh please, Kakashi! We didn’t have any dessert last night, you know!”

“Dessert isn’t something we eat every day.”

“But can we today? I’ll train really, really hard after, you know.”

“You mean you’ll run around like a hyperglycemic lunatic all afternoon.”

“Naruto, Kakashi knows what’s best. I apologize for bringing it up. A growing shinobi of Leaf Village should only ever eat healthy foods, and ice cream certainly is not very good for you.”

“It’s fine,” Kakashi sighed. He couldn’t let the comment about knowing best go, but landing in the middle of a minefield was always awkward. “Let’s all have some ice cream.”

“Great!” Guy leapt up, “I’ll get it. Don’t trouble yourselves!”

Half an hour earlier, Kakashi would have insisted on helping. Opening ice cream and dishing it up took two hands after all, but Guy was resourceful and Kakashi wouldn’t risk the close proximity of the small kitchen.

“Mister Guy’s hurt pretty badly, isn’t he?” Naruto asked quietly. Guy could hear them, of course, but the boy probably didn’t realize that.

“He’ll be fine as long as he listens to his doctors and rests. That’s the best thing for most injuries, food and sleep.”

“We really just threw shuriken,” Naruto said earnestly, “And I threw them. He rested and just watched me, you know.”

“Good.” Kakashi didn’t want ice cream. He didn’t want Naruto to eat ice cream. He wanted out of Guy’s little apartment. He wanted out of the village. And the day had started out with so much promise, too.

“That’s why you made him a lot of food, isn’t it?”

“He’ll have leftovers for a couple of days, even the way he eats,” Kakashi confirmed.

“Is Mister Guy your best friend?” Naruto asked innocently.

“No,” Kakashi answered quickly. In the kitchen there was a tearing sound, like someone trying to open an ice cream carton with one hand and accidentally using far too much force.

“Oh. Choji is Shikamaru’s best friend, you know.”

Kakashi looked at Naruto. Obviously this wasn’t only about Guy. “When a man grows up, he realizes that ranking friends is pointless. Friends are like articles of clothing; you want different friends in different situations. Guy might be my flack jacket, because I want him close by if I think serious, high level fighting is a possibility. Tenzo would be a mask, very useful for a shinobi and so subtle that I sometimes forget he’s there. My friend Genma might be an elaborate disguise, handy when I need information, but not something I’d go to the trouble of getting out every day. They’re all different, but there are definitely days when I need all of them.”

“What kind of clothes am I?”

Smiling, Kakashi pointed to the forehead protector covering his left eye. “You’re what I fight for, Naruto, and I always want you near.” Which, quite naturally, lead to Kakashi getting the life choked out of him with tiny, surprisingly strong arms until Guy came back with the ice cream.


	10. Chapter 10

“Shikamaru is starting at the Academy next week.”

Kakashi was very used to hearing all about Shikamaru’s exploits. Whenever Kakashi had a mission and Guy wasn’t around to keep Naruto out of trouble, Naruto spent most of his time at the Nara household. Shikaku’s prediction had been an accurate one. Too active to be Shikamaru’s first choice for companionship, Naruto had nevertheless formed a tentative friendship with the other boy. He’d found a second friend too, after a few private reminders from Kakashi that Choza Akimichi had owed his life to Minato Namikaze a dozen times over for years before the man ever became the Fourth Hokage. Choza’s wife still refused to allow Naruto into their home, but Choji was allowed to play at the Nara compound while Naruto was there. Both children had come to the Hatake compound to help Naruto eat the ridiculously large birthday cake Guy bought for him. It was pretty close to a normal childhood, and it made Kakashi feel like he might not completely fail at raising Naruto.

That was comforting, because Naruto was a terrible student. He was completely incapable of molding chakra, and he spent more time goofing off than he did practicing the few skills he could manage. Naruto was a happy, silly, mischievous little boy. Kakashi enjoyed spending time with him, but he wasn’t sure Minato-sensei would have approved of how often Kakashi allowed the child to slack off. 

“How nice for him. I suspect he’ll do well if he decides to apply himself. Of course, I know that natural talent and the Nara name will let him coast through if he chooses to take the easier path.”

“Kakashi! I want to go too! You said if I learned to read good I could go this year!”

“You read perfectly well for a child your age, but there’s always room for improvement. Anyway, you’re still a little young for the Academy.”

“Mister Guy said that you were already a genin when you were my age, you know!”

“Mister Guy has a big mouth. You and I are different people, Naruto, and every man learns and lives at his own pace. There is no need to rush to grow up.”

“I know my teacher will hate me,” Naruto said, his eyes suddenly shrewd and serious in an expression Kakashi had never seen before.

“Naruto.” Kakashi wasn’t sure how the boy had seen to the heart of the matter so quickly, but the last thing he wanted was to hurt the kid’s feelings even more. “You work harder than anyone, and you’re a lot smarter than the average six and a half year old. Any teacher that gave you a chance would love you.”

“But my teacher won’t give me a chance,” Naruto said calmly in that strange, adult way. “She’ll look at me the way all my other teachers always looked at me—the way everyone but you always looked at me—and she’ll hate me.”

As much as he wanted to, Kakashi couldn’t deny it. He couldn’t bear to confirm it, either. It was always possible that a good shinobi instructor could look past the Demon and see Naruto, even if men who should have been close family friends still refused the boy entry into their homes out of fear.

“It doesn’t matter,” Naruto said firmly. “I want to be a ninja, so I have to go to the Academy.”

Part of Kakashi wanted to say no. Waiting another year would give Kakashi time to teach the boy the basics no matter how distracted he was. If Naruto could sail easily through all of his classes, it wouldn’t matter what his teacher thought of him. “I’m sorry, Naruto,” he said finally. “I’ll see to your enrollment first thing in the morning. I was thinking only about what I wanted, not what was best for you.” Adversity was, after all, the fire that tempered a shinobi’s steel.

Naruto looked fascinated. “What do you want, Kakashi?” he asked, once again a curious child who could never seem to pry enough into Kakashi’s personal thoughts and feelings. The boy wanted family and that sort of intimacy was a foundation of sorts.

“I suppose that I would like to protect you,” Kakashi admitted. Revealing a weakness always stung, but it was tolerable. The way the boy lit up with happiness was worth the awkward feeling, even when he launched himself at Kakashi and started strangling the shinobi with a hug.

“That’s why I have to be a ninja,” Naruto said, his breath hot and his voice too loud against Kakashi’s ear. “So I can protect you, too. I’m going to be an even better ninja than the Fourth Hokage, you know!”

“An admirable goal.” The boy clung like a limpet. Kakashi could barely pry him off and set him back on the ground without using real force. “If you intend to attain it, you’ll need to practice much more than you have been. It wouldn’t do to have me enroll you only for you to fail the entrance exam.”

Naruto did not fail the entrance exam. Instead, he was assigned to the worst possible teacher in the whole Academy. Iruka Umino was a first year teacher, little more than a teenager, whose parents had been killed by the Nine Tailed Fox. Once again, a fair chance for Naruto was sacrificed to politics. No one would be able to accuse the Hokage of shepherding Naruto through the Academy with a teacher like Iruka.

It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair, but Kakashi had to allow a spineless chunin who was already prejudiced against Naruto spend eight hours a day with the boy. Even worse, a long distance mission that should never have been assigned to a single parent kept him out of the village for the first day of school. As Naruto’s guardian, it was his duty to make sure Iruka understood the price for hurting the child in any way. If Kakashi couldn’t do that by making friendly chit chat at the start of the semester, he would have to find his own way. 

“Who are you? How did you get in here?” 

Iruka was a shinobi. There was a kunai in his hand and no surprise in his voice despite the fact that his home was almost as well warded as Kakashi’s own. He did need to blink the sleep out of his eyes, but he was only a chunin.

“Just a scarecrow,” Kakashi said, taking the man’s blade easily, but not bothering to press it to his throat or anything dramatic like that. “A knife in the dark.”

“Then let’s have a little light,” Iruka said. The Flashing Sun Jutsu was a textbook perfect strategy for the situation. It took five hand seals, but it would light up the bedroom like a cloudless summer afternoon. Iruka’s use of it was exactly what one would expect from a chunin teacher who didn’t believe he could make the darkness work to his advantage. Of course, a ninjutsu expert who could see it coming was able to counter it easily.

“Let’s not.” Kakashi made another quick seal and bound the man’s hands to his bedposts. The darkness was his weapon, he wouldn’t be denied it. “Don’t try anything else. It would be a shame to have to hurt you.”

“What do you want?” There was nothing in the teacher’s voice that hinted at real submission, but he was clearly convinced that Kakashi was an enemy to take seriously.

“What do any of us want, really? A clean home, a safe village, a good deal of well written pornography that is both cheap and readily available—the simple things in life, really.”

“And what village might that be?”

Kakashi laughed, dragging the tip of the kunai over Iruka’s pajama pants, pausing ever so briefly as he passed the femoral artery, just to make sure that Iruka was fully aware that he hadn’t missed the kill point accidentally. “The Village Hidden In The Leaves, of course.”

“Why do I have trouble believing that a shinobi of the Leaf would assault me in my own home at three o’clock in the morning?”

“Because I haven’t told you what I want most of all,” Kakashi said, letting his voice dip toward dangerous. “I want you to be a good, fair teacher.”

Iruka relaxed completely, sagging against his bindings and looking relieved. “Oh. You’re a parent. Mizuki told me something like this might happen. I thought he was joking.”

Kakashi paused. He wasn’t willing to give Iruka the upper hand so easily, but he was curious. “Are teachers often threatened by parents?”

“Mizuki says it happens once or twice a year. Usually with parents who feel overprotective for one reason or another—an only child or an important clan, that sort of thing. I can tell that you’re not a Hyuga, and I don’t think the Uchiha need to worry about Sasuke after the showing his brother has made. If you were little Shino’s father, I suspect I would be covered in insects right now and I’ve met Sakura’s mother. Tell me, do I have the honor of addressing Inoichi Yamanaka?”

It was very reasonable. The Yamanaka clan was an old one and Ino was the only child of her generation. Unfortunately for Iruka, having the idea of anyone caring about Naruto tossed aside as illogical utterly infuriated Kakashi. “You’ve based your reasoning on a false premise, Sensei.” Kakashi slammed the kunai into Iruka’s headboard, splitting the wood and cracking the wall behind it. “I’m not a parent.”

The man’s muscles tensed, and he blatantly went back to plotting an escape. There was fear there. It was the fear that all well trained shinobi held in check when facing a dangerous situation, but it was still fear.

“Then why exactly do you care what sort of teacher I am?”

“Because I’m a teacher, too,” Kakashi said, sitting casually on the bed next to the bound man. “My student needs to pass the graduation exam at the Academy to become a genin.”

Once again, the fear left the teacher’s expression. This time it was replaced with righteous indignation. “I would never pass a student who didn’t earn his grades.”

“Nor would I, Sensei,” Kakashi said, feeling a little respect for the man despite everything. “Nor would I ever ask you to.”

“Then what do you want for your mysterious student?”

“A fair chance,” Kakashi said. “If a few chunin have to go missing so that he gets one, then that’s what will happen. He’ll tell me if you hit him. He’ll tell me if you treat him differently. He’ll tell me if you’re cruel. If he tells me enough, I’ll ensure that he gets a different teacher, one way or another.” It was all a bluff, of course. Kakashi wasn’t going to kill a chunin for hitting Naruto occasionally in class, and Naruto wasn’t going to tell Kakashi when things got hard for him at school. Naturally, Kakashi would spy on the boy, but there was no guarantee that he would ever learn the worst of it. Unfortunately he was sure that there would be a worst of it.

“You’re Captain Hatake, aren’t you? Naruto Uzumaki’s guardian.”

“Just an ordinary jounin these days, Iruka-sensei. You aren’t on my squad anymore.”

“And you didn’t have much of an opinion of me when I left it, as I recall. Have you tried speaking to the Hokage? I begged him not to put the Demon Fox in my class. He refused to allow a transfer even though another teacher agreed to take him.”

That was an interesting tidbit. Not that the Hokage had decided what class Naruto would be in. Kakashi understood that well enough, which was why he hadn’t gone to the old man himself. No, the fact that Iruka hadn’t welcomed a position of authority over the child he blamed for his parents death was fascinating. Adding in the fact that his room had smelt of fear long before Kakashi woke the man made the jounin suspect that he wasn’t actually interested in being petty or cruel. Maybe he just didn’t welcome a reminder of his parents’ death.

“Would you like to know a classified secret?” Kakashi asked, undoing the binding jutsu, but not getting off of Iruka’s bed. When the chunin sat up and rubbed his wrists he was close enough to kiss. He was close enough to listen.

“I suppose. I’d like a full night’s rest after my first day of school more.”

“The Demon Fox is sealed with an eight trigram seal—one of the most powerful sealing techniques ever devised by the Uzumaki clan—and it can’t be released without a key.”

“A key?”

“The key isn’t important. Focus on the part where I told you it can’t be released. It isn’t a dream seal or an anvil seal that the Tailed Beast can fight; it is the strongest weapon in the arsenal of a talented clan that devoted much of their learning to sealing techniques. Naruto might be a difficult student from time to time, but you are teaching Naruto. He can’t lose control and become the creature of your nightmares just because you fail him.”

Kakashi slipped out of the window, letting a little moonlight into the room behind him, and vanished before Iruka could ask how exactly he knew what the man’s nightmares were about. Answering predictable questions and explaining himself was far too much trouble to go through for a stranger. Frankly, Kakashi wasn’t likely to outline his thought process for a good friend. The teacher that hated Naruto certainly didn’t get a free peek.

At breakfast, Kakashi apologized for missing Naruto’s first day of school and asked for his side of the story.

“That’s okay,” the boy said quickly. “Mister Guy told me that your mission was supposed to take a week. That any ninja but you would be gone for a really long time on a dangerous mission like that and that you were the only one who thought it would only take three days.”

“Hoped would seem more accurate in this case.” Thinking he could get all the way to the Land of Iron and back in three days wasn’t exactly hubris. Kakashi knew some excellent techniques for traveling alone. Assuming his A-rank mission could be completed in no time at all without a team to back him up might have been his pride at work. He’d been away from the village for four days.

“You aren’t hurt, are you? Mister Guy said that if you rushed through a dangerous mission just to get back quickly, you would probably be injured, you know.”

“Not at all,” Kakashi said, bending the truth slightly. If a wound was shallow enough that he could stitch it up himself rather than going to a hospital, it hardly counted as being hurt. “How was school? Guy didn’t manage to make you late, did he?”

“No! We were the first people there!” Because Guy knew how to make a dynamic entrance, but he knew that sort of attention was the last thing Naruto needed. Unfortunately, there was such a thing as taking the responsibility of escorting a boy to school too seriously. Guy had very likely decided that duty included arriving three hours early and spying on the entire class once it started.

“I should have been here to show you to school on your first day.”

“It was fun going with Mister Guy! You can walk me to school today, you know!”

“I do know. How did everything else go yesterday?”

“Great! My teacher doesn’t hate me at all!”

Kakashi gave the boy a moment to consider how much he really wanted to lie to his guardian.

“Well, he didn’t yell at me or hit me or make me stand in a corner or clean while everyone else had a lesson or anything like that, you know. He wasn’t mean to me.”

Before Kakashi could get the names of the teachers at the preschool that had put Naruto through such punishments, the boy continued. “One of my new classmates tried to be mean to me, but it didn’t work, you know.”

“What happened?”

“Shikamaru and Choji let me sit with them at lunch because they’re my friends.” Naruto paused a moment as though waiting for Kakashi to dispute or congratulate him. Uncertain of what precisely was appropriate, Kakashi just waited patiently for him to continue. “One of the boys who used to pick on me at the park said something mean to me.”

Blushing a deep red, Naruto looked away from Kakashi, toward the drifting shadows under the window. “I don’t remember what he said,” the boy lied. This time, Kakashi let it slide.

“Did you say something back?”

“No, Shikamaru did. He said—well, I don’t remember what he said either—something really clever, you know.” Kakashi believed it.

“Did the boy understand him?”

“He had to think about it for a really long time before he even knew Shikamaru had said something mean about him. I don’t think Choji even understood it either, but he laughed so I laughed and the mean boy went to go sit with his own friends and he left us alone.”

“I’m glad to hear it. The teacher didn’t do anything?”

“No, he was talking to another teacher in the hallway when it happened.”

“I see.”

“I—was it bad? Did I do the wrong thing? Shikamaru was defending me, you know.”

“Shikamaru is a good boy. It doesn’t sound to me like either of your friends did anything wrong. A shinobi who won’t stand by his comrades is worse than garbage.”

“Well then Shikamaru’s—whatever the opposite of garbage is.”

“Yes he is. Maybe today it will be your turn to stand up for him at school. Go get your things together. It’s time to move out.”

“Yes, sir!” Naruto sprang up with that silly, faux military salute that the Academy would doubtless train out of him. He really was adorable as he rushed off to get his books and practice ninja tools.

After Kakashi had a chance to shake Iruka-sensei’s hand in broad daylight—deciding that he respected the man even more for not mentioning the visit the night before—he went in search of Guy. As his legal guardian, Kakashi deserved a real report on Naruto’s first day at school. Concerned as he was with the boy’s perspective, Kakashi very much wanted a seasoned shinobi’s view of things as well.

Luckily, he didn’t have to go far to find Guy. The man was hiding in the bushes that surrounded the schoolyard, clearly spying on Naruto’s second day of school. “Rival!” he greeted Kakashi, leaping to his feet and making no effort at concealment. “I saw that you had returned early from your mission this morning, as is a credit to your hard work and great skill. Knowing how much you value giving Naruto his routines, I decided not to wake you both. Indeed, you have proven my choice to be the correct one, for you did not make our young student late at all!”

Kakashi chafed a little at the implication that Guy had an interest in Naruto’s welfare beyond Kakashi’s friendship, but he ignored it. Kakashi had never been the jealous type. He’d never valued anything highly enough to be possessive about it, but Naruto was different. It was always so clear that Naruto was happier when Guy was around. “Yesterday,” Kakashi demanded gruffly.

“Naruto’s first day of school went very well! He rose early and we breakfasted together on a hearty meal guaranteed to make even the weakest shinobi ready to face the day. Not that Naruto is weak! However, he is very small and I thought it would be best to help him maximize his power with invigorating, nutritious food.”

A part of Kakashi wanted to ask, but he definitely didn’t want to know. Some of the things Guy had eaten over the years after being told they were good for him didn’t bear thinking about.

“We encountered no difficulties on the way here, and therefore had plenty of time to train a little together before the teachers and Naruto’s new classmates arrived. Thinking it would be best not to overtax the boy on the dawn of such an auspicious day, we practiced with shuriken for a little while. He is much improved. He hit the target dead center on every throw, and he is getting better at throwing two or three at once.”

Since Kakashi was the one who had shown Naruto how to throw multiple stars with one hand, he was not surprised to hear Guy’s report. Impatiently he waited for the information he did want to hear. In case his rival was actually clueless enough to be unaware of his feelings on the subject, Kakashi stood up straighter, calling attention to the fact that he wasn’t even holding a book, and stared the other jounin down.

“The teacher might be a problem,” Guy admitted, sighing a little. “But surely one that Naruto can overcome! Challenge is the mother of greatness!”

“How?”

“Well, my most worthy rival, when a shinobi must face true hardship and work to overcome such adversity—“

“Guy.”

“He never called on Naruto once, even though the young warrior raised his hand at nearly every question. He refused to look at your small protector while calling the roll. I watched him carefully. He never looked at Naruto at all. Not once during the entire day. The man gives cold a new definition.”

It fit well with what Kakashi suspected about Iruka-sensei, and suggested that the Third Hokage had not done as much of a disservice to Naruto by placing him in that class as he might have. “Naruto did well with the lessons, though?”

“Who knows on the first day? He approached every part of class with vigor and determination, but most of the challenges were very simple tasks, meant to help those students who have been homeschooled until now grow used to the way schools work.”

Quirking an eyebrow, Kakashi couldn’t resist. “That’s very insightful for you, Guy.”

The big man laughed and refused to take offense at the implied insult. Guy really had grown up while Kakashi wasn’t paying attention. “I confess, it was my intention to observe Naruto’s studies a little more today, just to be sure he was finding his footing.”

Guy wasn’t the only shinobi hiding in the bushes by any means. Kakashi counted six other parents or siblings of new academy students stashed around the outside of the school. A woman with long blonde hair and three swords was even perched unrepentantly outside of one of the classroom windows. Kakashi would have bet any money that the number of shinobi had been even greater on the first day. Spying was emotionally indulgent and quite probably a waste of time. “I’ll be in the oak tree if you need me,” he told Guy, using a camouflage technique as he went to avoid drawing attention.

Both reports had been correct. Iruka wasn’t cruel to Naruto, but he didn’t bother to look at the boy either. If he asked a question, it was like Naruto’s hand wasn’t in the air. Things clearly reached an unacceptable head for Naruto when the class went out to the practice posts to gauge practical skill levels.

Throwing first was Sasuke Uchiha, setting the bar high the way most Uchiha were wont to do. He threw all six shuriken at the same time, striking the target well in the center, but with a decent spread. Of course, Kakashi would expect nothing less from Itachi Uchiha’s little brother.

Clearly the class list was alphabetical, because Naruto Uzumaki was next in line. The other students were still making impressed noises and fawning over Sasuke’s display of talent. Kakashi could see what was coming next.

Sure enough, Naruto threw all six shuriken at once. He didn’t have the accuracy to do the trick successfully yet. On a good day, practicing with perfect concentration alongside Kakashi or Guy, he might manage to throw three at once well with his dominant hand. In front of a large group that he wanted desperately to impress, Naruto was not at an advantage. Only two little metal stars hit the target. Only four struck the post at all. The class was not impressed by Naruto’s display. Bursting into laughter, the children jeered at him just as they’d lauded Sasuke. Playing along, Naruto laughed heartily as well, pretending that his intention had always been to fail and make a mockery of Sasuke’s feat.

Only the Uchiha, the teacher, and Shikamaru did not react with the crowd. Sasuke just turned his nose up. Unlike Itachi and Obito, the boy seemed to feel he was above other people’s problems, more like a typical Uchiha. Predictably, the teacher simply ignored the incident and called the next child forward as though he could not see Naruto at all. That seemed convenient for him. Kakashi had often wished that the things he feared simply did not exist. At least Shikamaru reacted to Naruto’s antics like a good friend. He folded his arms behind his head, smiled, and said, “That’s what you get for trying to show off.”

Embarrassed, Naruto managed a sheepish chuckle that was far more genuine than his previous clowning.

When it was Shikamaru’s turn to throw, he lazily tossed each shuriken into the post without bothering to challenge himself. He got a decent score that way, but he also set a low baseline for his teacher to measure his improvement against. Likewise, Choji’s marks were similar to Naruto’s even though he threw the little blades one by one as the teacher instructed. For all that both boys had proven that they would stick with Naruto through hardship, Kakashi’s ward would probably learn more quickly with friends like Sasuke Uchiha to challenge him. Still, Shikamaru and Choji made Naruto happy. Kakashi could always ramp up the boy’s extracurricular training to make up the difference.

Naruto’s friends weren’t a problem, but Guy’s judgment had been sound. Iruka was. Learning from a teacher who refused to correct or even interact with Naruto would definitely stymie the boy’s progress. Beyond that, Kakashi still wasn’t completely convinced that Iruka Umino would never react to Naruto’s pleas for attention with violence. One day the boy would do something the teacher couldn’t ignore. That reaction was the one that Kakashi needed to predict. Everything else was moot.

As cautious as always, Kakashi hid and watched Naruto’s lessons every day that first week, even as the other parents drifted away and stopped spying. Guy seemed satisfied after the shuriken placement test on the second day—or perhaps he decided to trust Naruto’s actual guardian with the boy’s welfare—and left the village on a mission. Having him away was a small mercy. Kakashi didn’t need his rival watching him while he was making such a blatant emotional display as unnecessary spying. Kakashi didn’t need anyone knowing just how much of a weakness he’d developed for Naruto over their short year together. Anyway, the observation proved to be a necessary precaution almost immediately.

Naruto didn’t appreciate being ignored by his teacher. While he never complained to Kakashi, the boy quickly devised a plan to get the attention that he craved from his instructor. Naruto didn’t cry or throw a tantrum—that really was in the past—instead he threw a water balloon at the teacher’s desk. Naturally Kakashi intercepted it. He also removed several spikes from the man’s chair, a veritable parade of frogs from the classroom cabinets, and an eraser from the doorframe.

Trying to remind the boy that it didn’t matter what a mere chunin thought of him was difficult, as Kakashi couldn’t teach the boy outright disrespect for the chain of command. Instead, he brought Naruto to a stand of cherry trees in full bloom so the child could play and train among the falling cherry blossoms. Naruto was suitably impressed by the natural beauty, but he wasn’t even remotely cowed by the full force of Kakashi’s attention. Like the trees he seemed to overflow with life, whipping away from any attempt to discuss Iruka’s attitude like a petal caught by a sudden gust of wind. 

Unfortunately, since Kakashi wasn’t ready to confess to spying on the boy’s classes, he could only subtly hint and hope that Naruto would choose to confide in him about his misbehavior. Showing just how much he was growing up, Naruto didn’t want to rely on Kakashi to solve his problem. It didn’t seem to occur to him that his actions could result in trouble for them both. Moreover, since he credited Iruka’s skills with evading his pranks, they grew progressively more serious and elaborate. The man never reacted to the jokes Kakashi couldn’t interfere with, the standing up in class or shouting inappropriate answers to questions, but Kakashi grew progressively more worried that if one of Naruto’s pranks were allowed to touch the man, they would see Iruka’s true face.

Which was why Genma found him reading behind the school one day, perfectly disguised as a patch of fencing. “I can’t see you, Kakashi, but the Third Hokage told me you’d be here.”

Letting go of the jutsu and putting away his book, Kakashi offered the chunin a slight nod. “Something important happening?”

“You have a mission, but you haven’t been going to the mission desk so I get to hand deliver it to you. Must be nice to be special enough to warrant that kind of treatment.”

“I don’t have a mission because I haven’t been going to the mission desk and so couldn’t possibly have been assigned one.”

“The Hokage wants you to take it, you’re the best suited.” Genma gestured uselessly with the scroll in his hand, but Kakashi didn’t accept it.

“You’d be hard pressed to find a mission that I wasn’t well suited for, but there are hundreds of qualified shinobi in the village. The Hokage can send someone else.”

Genma’s eyes narrowed and he shifted his senbon to the other side of his mouth in a clear indication of stress. Fetching Kakashi was clearly supposed to have been a simple matter of reminding the procrastinator that he still had duties. “The best cover we could find is a dog trainer. There aren’t hundreds of shinobi who can summon ninja hounds.”

“Send one of the Inuzuka,” Kakashi said, carefully not glancing toward the school even though nearly half an hour had passed since he last checked to make sure Naruto was staying out of mischief.

“Getting one man in to spy on this meeting will be difficult enough. We need a perfect transcript of what’s said, but we can’t send a team to get it. None of the Inuzuka are well known for their near perfect memories and we expect several long code phrases will be spoken aloud only once. We’ve been doing prep on this mission for months, but-” Genma’s eyes darted around the abandoned schoolyard. “You really should just take the scroll and read about it. I’ve already said too much.”

“I’m needed here,” Kakashi finally admitted.

“To what? Hang around outside of the Academy and stalk the kid? If he’s showing signs of instability it’s your duty to report it to the Third Lord, not cover it up.” Genma’s attempt at manipulation was both obvious and pointless. Deciding to put the idea to rest before he could repeat the theory to the Hokage was one thing, but Kakashi wasn’t going to take a mission away when Naruto needed him. Not even to put down a rumor that could hurt the boy.

“Naruto is fine. Ask his teacher if you don’t believe me.”

It was an unfortunately timed declaration. Just then Iruka-sensei started shouting angrily. Kakashi darted through the window and into the classroom, getting between Naruto and his slime-covered teacher instantly. “He’s sorry,” Kakashi said, putting a protective hand on Naruto’s shoulder and stepping subtly between them. Iruka stopped short and looked at Kakashi with wide surprised eyes. “Say you’re sorry, Naruto.”

Naruto did not say he was sorry. He said, “Kakashi? Where did you come from?”

Kakashi ignored him, staring down the irate, yet confused teacher. “I’ll take him home. There will be consequences for his actions, I assure you.”

“You most certainly will not take him home,” Iruka said, face hardening. “He is going to stay here until he cleans up every last drop of whatever this goop is, then he is going to write lines until he realizes that he should be paying attention to his lessons, not making a mess.”

Blinking, Kakashi said, “That sounds acceptable.”

“I’m so glad you approve, but you don’t really have a say, Mister Hatake. If Naruto wants to continue in my class than he needs to obey me, not just go along because he knows you’re watching from the bushes or whatever. I thought the other teachers cleared you lot out weeks ago.”

Kakashi had noticed that some of the watching parents had been asked to leave, but of course a few chunin teachers couldn’t uncover Kakashi’s position if he didn’t want them to. “I apologize for interrupting your class, Iruka-sensei. Of course you have a right to discipline Naruto in this way for causing a disruption. Naruto, I’ll see you at home.”

Whisking back outside as quickly as he’d entered the building, Kakashi realized that he had not only been interfering with Naruto’s natural attempts to bond with his teacher, but he had also betrayed serious weakness in front of Genma. The only thing left to do was accept the scroll and hope that nothing came of it.

“I won’t be leaving immediately.”

“I heard,” Genma said blandly. Twitching the senbon in his mouth in a small, irritating smirk, he continued. “You have to meet your son at home.”

Before Kakashi could respond, the chunin was gone, which was fine. He had no real way to mitigate the damage. Instead, he focused on the damage that he could mitigate, picking up a new book and some ramen on the way home to improve Naruto’s mood after his detention.

The precautions weren’t necessary. Naruto came home babbling about his school day as though it had been a perfectly normal one. While he mentioned the slime, saying that he accidentally made a mess that Iruka-sensei forced him to clean up, he didn’t mention Kakashi’s presence at all. Perhaps some guardians would be relieved not to discuss their own mistakes with their charges, but Kakashi had allowed Naruto to avoid the truth for too long.

“And I suppose the frogs accidentally appeared in the classroom cabinet two days ago?” Kakashi said, setting the table.

Naruto stopped and looked uncertainly up at Kakashi. “It was you all of the times, wasn’t it?”

“Keeping you from making trouble? Yes. That’s my job as your guardian.”

Naruto smiled a little, the way he always did when Kakashi reminded him that they were inextricably linked. “The other kids tried to make fun of me because you came and interrupted class, but Shikamaru says they were just jealous because you’re the best ninja in the whole village.”

“Speaking of that, I have some bad news.”

“You have to go on a mission?” Naruto asked. He was more curious than excited or disappointed. Kakashi leaving for missions had become part of the routine. “It’s been over a month since your last one, so that’s not surprising, you know.”

“Pretty much. I seem to be the only man for the job. Will you try to stay out of trouble while I’m gone?”

Naruto blushed a little and looked down at his dinner. “I like making everybody in class laugh, you know.”

“That’s fine,” Kakashi said, fairly certain that a better parental figure would discourage disruptive behavior. “A few jokes are one thing, as long as you’re learning and paying attention, but the big pranks will cost you more friends than they win you in the end.”

Nodding seriously, the boy looked up at Kakashi and asked, “Did the Fourth Hokage ever play practical jokes?”

“Maybe I’ll tell you about it at bedtime.”


	11. Chapter 11

Spying missions were usually as bloodless as retrieval missions, but they were often considerably more time consuming. Kakashi tried not to worry about it as he dyed his hair and changed into his elaborate dog trainer costume. Before he left the village, things with Naruto had been settled. The boy had promised to behave in class, Iruka-sensei had definitively shown that he was more likely to bark at a student than bite, and Guy would be back at the village within a day to babysit. Obviously Kakashi would need his whole pack to pose as a dog trainer. Leaving Pakkun behind to stand guard was impossible. But Kakashi hadn’t left the boy alone since taking over his guardianship, and doing so left him with an uneasy feeling.

Summoning his adorable ninja hounds, Kakashi broke the news to them gently that they would have to trade their stylish henohenomoheji for the brightly colored garb of entertainers. Everyone except Bull took the news stoically. Pakkun was an old hand at the shinobi arts of disguise and misdirection, so he quickly convinced the others that costumes were an effective and amusing way to get close to a target. Only Bull, the warrior of the group, put up a real fight. Wearing a pointed hat and colorful cape was well beneath the big black dog’s dignity. He dodged around the clearing, forcing Kakashi to chase him. 

“You aren’t Naruto,” Kakashi growled, facing the dog down. “You don’t get to disobey.” 

Bull whimpered, rolling onto his back apologetically. In the end, he wore the outfit, but he wasn’t pleased about it. Kakashi wasn’t particularly pleased about it either, but they both had their orders. 

To be safest, he gave a show in the little town where he’d stopped to change. After that he could only travel with his dogs at a civilian’s pace, over the course of two days, to his target. When impersonating a civilian, sometimes it was the littlest things that could make or break a cover. Kakashi didn’t want not being seen on the road to be what gave him away. Besides, he’d been hired for a specific command performance. He would be away from Naruto for the same amount of time either way.

The entertainer’s contract he had been given was good enough to get the little troop through the back gate of the palace. It was immediately obvious why sending Kakashi in alone was necessary. All of the guards were shinobi. Manning the gate were three chunin, and once Kakashi was inside, a blue haired jounin with a friendly smile and a bastard sword strapped to his back came up to him immediately.

“Sorry about this,” the enemy jounin said pleasantly. “Security, you know, I’m what’s known as a sensory type. I just have to check that you aren’t under the influence of any ninjutsu. Okay?”

“My lord,” Kakashi said with a low bow, “Provided I am paid the promised amount upon the conclusion of our evening, you may inspect my dogs in whatever way you wish. I am but a simple entertainer and would never dare argue with my host. Be careful of the black one, however. He is well trained, but if you are rough with him, he may be rough with you.”

Laughing, the jounin assured him that roughness would not be necessary. The man formed a few seals and tapped each dog on the head with one forefinger. Kakashi’s dogs were summoning animals, but they weren’t just random creatures bound by a contract written in blood. Kakashi’s dogs were handpicked and trained carefully by Kakashi in the old tradition of his clan. Simply dispelling a summoning jutsu wouldn’t make them abandon Kakashi in a puff of smoke. The enemy ninja nodded in frank approval when all of the dogs appeared to be perfectly normal. Then he performed very recognizable hand signs, and looked intently at Kakashi. While he didn’t remove the black eye patch, Kakashi knew instantly what must be under it. Here at last was a good reason to say Kakashi was better suited to the mission than any Inuzuka. For a shinobi, Kakashi’s chakra was incredibly low. Most users of the Byakugan didn’t see Kakashi as a threat as long as his Sharingan was covered and closed.

“All clear,” the cheerful man called over his shoulder. “Diego’s Dauntless Dogs are here. Tell the steward!”

“Thank you, my good man. Might I have the honor of your name?” It was very troubling that a Hyuga eye had been stolen without Leaf Village knowing about it. If Kakashi were still an ANBU destroying the eye would have take priority over learning a few code phrases that smaller villages were using. In fact, Kakashi had difficulty believing that either the women of Nadeshiko Village or the shinobi of the Village Hidden In The Rain would be capable of stealing and hiding a Byakugan. It would take one of the major villages to accomplish such a feat.

“Of course, Master Diego. My name is Mu.” It was a common name for a shinobi to give. Clearly the man had no reason to offer his real name. Well, Kakashi would hate to think an idiot had been capable of stealing the Byakugan.

“Thank you, Master Mu,” Kakashi said as the steward came to lead him away. “I look forward to seeing you again.”

“So,” the steward said, escorting Kakashi through the palace to the antechamber of a large hall. “Yours are the greatest performing dogs in six countries, or so I am told.”

“Yes, sir, my lord,” Kakashi said enthusiastically. “We’ve journeyed across many lands and we always manage to entertain, my lord. You see, my lord, we have to be good because we’re the only show on offer. No one picks up slack for us, your lordship. We once tried traveling with a few other acts, even a flea circus, but it didn’t work out, sir. Highly unfortunate situation, that one.”

“What happened?”

“My dogs stole the show.”

Snorting, the steward didn’t look much impressed. “A word of advice? Let the tricks your dogs perform speak for themselves. A grand comedian you are not. Do you require anything before your performance? Water for the animals, perhaps?”

“Thank you kindly, no. My pups perform best on an empty stomach,” Kakashi said. Though he had no obvious evidence that something was amiss, Kakashi still had a bad feeling, and he didn’t trust the steward not to poison his dogs.

“Very well. You will wait here until you are called for. Then you will perform your act with minimal patter and return to this room to wait to be escorted out. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir. That’s straightforward enough, my lord. I think I can wrap my head around it if I try.”

Snorting again, the steward left without a goodbye. At least the antechamber wasn’t sound proofed. Kakashi had a good ear for the conversations being held within the great hall. Only about twenty guests were gathered within, obviously sharing an elegant meal. It was easy to pick out the important voices. They were the ones not commenting on the quality of the fish.

Of course, Kakashi’s life could never be easy, they were still talking in code. “Yes, the largest piece is in place in my little art gallery, but sometimes the little pieces are the most valuable.”

“Yes, my lord. I was told to tell you, ‘The true flying hawk alighted with grace and nobility upon the outstretched branch, dropping four feathers.’ Hopefully that is to your liking, your majesty.” Majesty was an interesting form of address. Generally only a daimyo of high status even among other lords would be called by that particular title. Either the person speaking to the lord was flattering, or the lord was more important than the lord of a small land like the one containing Hidden Rain Village could be expected to be. The speaker didn’t sound much like a woman, either.

“Only four feathers? Well, it can’t be helped. Send word. ‘Talons that grasp the smallest treasures are honored beyond words and beyond measure.’ Make sure that it is done.”

“Yes, my lord.” It was also interesting that the shinobi—and the second speaker had to be a shinobi—was using a possessive form of address for the feudal lord. One wouldn’t expect to hear phrasing like that between allies. It was more appropriate for a conversation between a lord and his own vassal.

“But enough of formalities and business,” the lord said loudly. “I have waited long enough for my entertainment! Call forth the dog!”

Obediently, Kakashi came forward and started his act. At first he started out with very basic dog tricks. Jumping through hoops, prancing on hind legs, and barking on command were all very typical tricks for a dog show. Since Diego’s was supposed to be a dog show of some renown, he produced a little bicycle about Biscuit’s size and had her ride it around a little. When he bounced off and caught a treat in his mouth, there was some polite applause. Then, Kakashi had Bull ride the same bicycle, which was much too small for him. Of course, the ninja hound did it well, and the laughter that greeted the big animal riding the tiny bike in circles was somewhat more genuine.

After that, Kakashi took his duties as an entertainer seriously. Pakkun leapt onto Bull’s back and caught a hoop in his mouth. Bull continued to ride the bicycle in a perfect circle. Setting a second hoop spinning slowly on a stand, Kakashi lit a third hoop on fire and held it aloft. The six ninja hounds who were not supporting hoops began jumping through them one by one, faster and faster, making a perfect circuit of the performing area. Finally, with a little flash powder and a well-tossed match, Kakashi lit the other two hoops on fire. Each dog completed one final circuit of the flaming hoops and lined up at the front of the little staging area. Then Pakkun threw his hoop to Kakashi and flipped off of Bull’s back to join them. At last, Bull popped the bicycle up on its back wheel, grabbed it in his teeth, and tossed it to Kakashi who caught it, extinguished all three hoops in one movement, and took a low bow.

Laughing and clapping the diners all seemed very pleased with his performance. “Well done,” the fat feudal lord at the head table said. “I was told that no one could match Kakashi Hatake for showmanship.”

Everything had been a trap, then. That wasn’t unexpected at this point. Nor were the shinobi who came in from every door the moment the lord said his name. Four chunin—taking position at the corners of the room—tried to activate a barrier jutsu. Kakashi let them believe they were successful, setting the area aglow with a basic genjutsu, while Pakkun blocked the formation of the barrier subtly by cowering backward and peeing on one of the corner scrolls, destroying the writing. Kakashi had no intention of being trapped, but he did need a little more information about his would be captors.

“Might I have the honor of knowing the name of the man smart enough to take my life?”

“He’s playing for time, my lord,” the blue haired jounin with the hidden Byakugan said. “I suggest we kill him quickly. No one with a reputation like his deserves the slightest chance.” It was good advice. Kakashi should probably kill the man first, destroying that eye as he made his escape.

“Fool!” the fat feudal lord shouted, backhanding the much stronger and faster shinobi. “You miss the entire point! He must be made to suffer as I have been made to suffer! He killed my eldest son!”

“You are the Lord of the Land of Water,” Kakashi realized. “All of the shinobi here are from the Village of the Bloody Mist.”

“Yes,” the lord hissed. “Every bit as smart as they all say, aren’t you, Kakashi Hatake. The genius, the prodigy who killed my son—what could I possibly take from you that would make you understand my pain?”

Kakashi stared at him, seeing Rin’s face instead. She mouthed his name, synonymous with garbage. The code phrase about the smallest treasures echoed through his mind over and over. There was something small and golden that Kakashi valued far, far more than his own life.

“That’s right,” the fat feudal lord said, an evil satisfaction twisting his face. “The famous Copy Ninja has a son now, or so the rumor goes. My people have orders to kill him slowly.”

Gathering information was no longer of even the slightest importance. Darting forward through the nonexistent barrier, Kakashi put a lightning blade through the feudal lord’s throat. He looked surprised as his head rolled away and his body slumped forward, dead. The shinobi filling the room looked surprised as well, though not for long. They rushed Kakashi and he was forced to block the blue haired jounin’s giant sword with a kunai. Admirably, his ninja hounds closed ranks around him to protect. Unfortunately, more than a few shuriken grazed him, simply because no one could possibly evade the sheer mass of thrown knives. In another life, Kakashi might have used a substitution, flipping through the room unharmed, battling alongside his pack until there were no survivors and the Byakugan was destroyed. In this life, he didn’t have the time or the chakra to waste on that sort of thing. Kakashi deflected what he could with a second kunai in his left hand, but he accepted a few wounds as the cost of setting up his next move.

“You and I will have to settle this another time,” Kakashi told the serious faced jounin. “No one attacks my family and lives.”

Kakashi was a student of the Fourth Hokage—the Yellow Flash of Hidden Leaf—and though he didn’t have the chakra necessary to use the great man’s techniques, he did know them. It was thanks to his master’s many hours of dedicated tutelage that Kakashi was able to teleport hundreds of miles back to his home village in the blink of an eye. His hounds would leave the fight once they knew Kakashi was gone. In the end, it was a good thing that Kakashi had been sent on the mission alone. Having to choose between leaving a comrade in danger and not going to Naruto’s aid at once would have been problematic.

Strategically, forcing Kakashi to summon all of his ninja hounds and perform had been a good choice. Using his lightning blade had been similarly foolish. Teleporting a long distance after using two of his most chakra intensive jutsu was tiring even without unveiling his Sharingan at any point. Beyond that, he was only able to teleport to his home. Naruto wasn’t there.

It was late, after bedtime, and the full moon had risen high in the sky. Naruto wouldn’t be at school. Kakashi wasn’t sure where the boy would be and he wasn’t going to waste time racing to the Nara compound or Ichiraku Ramen in a fruitless search. Typical that the first long mission when Kakashi hadn’t left Pakkun behind to secretly follow Naruto would be the one where it was most necessary. Summoning the little dog again took almost all of Kakashi’s remaining chakra, but it would be worth the sacrifice if they could find Naruto in time. There was nothing Kakashi would not sacrifice to find Naruto in time. 

Pakkun didn’t need any orders, he started sniffing the ground immediately then took off at a run up the road shouting, “This way, boss.” Wordlessly, Kakashi followed at a breakneck pace.

Hearing Guy’s voice in the clearing ahead allowed a small spark of hope to bloom in Kakashi’s chest, but it didn’t slow his racing feet.

“Now pay attention, Naruto,” the taijutsu master was saying, “It’s important to bind an enemy’s hands in such a way that he can’t form seals and use ninjutsu to free himself. Of course, I don’t think that will be a problem with these fellows!” Guy laughed in his usual booming way.

The clearing was one of the smaller practice fields, surrounded by trees. Three beaten, unconscious Mist assassins were already trussed up and limp at the base of three training posts. A fourth unconscious shinobi was being tied up by Guy while Naruto watched, fascinated. The boy appeared unharmed.

“I should go, then, Boss,” Pakkun said reasonably. “You don’t have the chakra to waste.”

Kakashi nodded, dismissing the hound and the exhaustion of his long flight hit him all at once. He leaned casually against one of the trees at the edge of the clearing and drank in the way the moonlight played over Guy’s muscles. It had been a long day. He was tired. Kakashi decided to allow himself a second small indulgence.

“Hey, Naruto,” he called. “I’m back early.”

The boy looked up excitedly then gasped in horror. Kakashi whipped his head around, checking for any other attackers that he might have missed. “Kakashi?” Naruto asked, his lower lip trembling and sudden tears springing to the corners of his eyes.

Kakashi waved a hand, gesturing that the boy should come to him, while he continued scanning the area. Naruto broke into a run, tears flying out behind him. Hitting Kakashi with force, he wrapped his arms around the jounin and repeated his name. 

“Hey now,” Kakashi said soothingly. “Those guys didn’t scare you, did they? Guy was here to protect you.”

Naruto couldn’t respond coherently. He just mumbled something through his tears that sounded like he was repeating Kakashi’s words. “Most of it isn’t his blood, Naruto,” Guy said gently, looking Kakashi up and down with serious, appraising eyes.

It was only then that Kakashi realized what he must look like. He was still wearing his colorful costume, with silken scarves wound about his face to cover almost everything but his right eye and a shock of bright, crimson hair. However, the costume was torn in a dozen places from the successful shuriken strikes.The blood of the Water Daimyo was still coating everything, sticky and nowhere near dry, because decapitations tended to be messy affairs. It was a little surprising that Naruto recognized him at all.

“I could probably stand to clean up a bit, eh?” he said, trying to get a smile out of Naruto by mocking the words he used against the boy so often. “What have I been doing all day? I’m filthy, yeah?”

“We could have a bath,” the boy suggested tremulously. There was blood on his white t-shirt where it had pressed against Kakashi’s uniform. 

“That sounds great,” Kakashi said, hoping he could stay awake that long. “Guy and I need to report a few things to the Hokage. Why don’t you go home and fill the tub? Ningame will go with you because turtles like bathing a lot more than dogs do.”

Kakashi was prepared to make the request more politely if Guy pressed the issue, but his rival didn’t offer even a cursory objection to Kakashi’s assumption that his summoning creatures would be used at Kakashi’s whim. The turtle appeared in a small puff of smoke and was asked to escort Naruto home with the warning that enemy shinobi might still be in the area. Four was the number Kakashi had overheard, but the trap had been too elaborate to make any assumptions.

They made quite the sight plodding up the stone steps to the Hokage’s Mansion. Guy had four bound and unconscious enemy shinobi piled on his back, and Kakashi was covered in color and blood. Bouncing ahead repeatedly, Guy kept stopping to match his pace to Kakashi’s, then offering to carry his rival as well. Kakashi ignored him and tried not to focus on the deep feeling of gratitude that threatened to overwhelm him.

Naturally they were admitted to see the Hokage right away, while Guy’s prisoners were taken off to interrogation awaiting either hostage exchange or imprisonment. Guy’s report was fairly simple. He’d been doing some light jogging—his words, the man had probably been racing through the treetops at top speed—in the forest when he heard Naruto shout. Instinctively, he protected the boy and defeated his challengers ably. The fight ended quickly, which made Guy guess that the attackers couldn’t have been more than chunin level.

“What was Naruto doing in the woods after dark?” Kakashi asked, even though it was the Hokage’s prerogative to question a report.

“I don’t know,” Guy answered simply. “We trained together this afternoon and shared dinner, but I thought he was going to go home afterward. I didn’t have a chance to ask why he wasn’t in bed before your arrival.”

The Hokage waved away Kakashi’s concern and asked for his report. Speaking blandly, Kakashi outlined the trap that had been set for him and the way he had fallen into it. Knowing how important the news was for international politics, he quickly got to the part where he assassinated the Lord of the Land of Water.

“The Land of Water,” the Hokage sighed, “and the Village Hidden in the Mists, they are the most desirous of blood of any of the other great lands. The Land of Lightning seeks power wherever it can be found, to be sure, and the Land of Earth is proud and unmovable to the ways of peace, but sometimes one feels that the Land of Water will never be satisfied by anything but blood. At least his eldest and maddest son cannot succeed him. We must hope that there will be wisdom found among the younger sons, though we will not plan for it.”

Kakashi and Guy agreed quietly.

“Very well. You have left me with a lot to consider, Kakashi. You should think on becoming more like your Rival and bringing me nothing but prisoners who are clearly in the wrong and can be dealt with simply. The information about the tentative alliance between Rain and the women of Nadeshiko came from several sources that I once considered reliable. Finding out that such an elaborate plan could be orchestrated against us leaves much of our intelligence network in question.”

“My apologies, Lord Third. Naturally, I will be happy to assist in any way that I can, to try to correct the error,” Kakashi said, managing an appropriate bow.

“You would be happier to go home and get some rest, if you will not seek medical attention,” the Hokage returned with a kind, grandfatherly smile. “This could have been a much bigger disaster had lesser shinobi been in your places. The two of you did your duty well. Take the respite now that you deserve.”

Thanking the Hokage, Kakashi and Guy took their leave.

“Perhaps you will allow me to escort you home, Rival,” Guy said, as soon as they were safely away from the mansion.

Kakashi was still plodding along slowly, but he had his pride and he could walk just fine. “You aren’t carrying me.”

“No of course not,” Guy said quickly, as though he had not already offered to do so half a dozen times. “Just walk with you. And talk! Because it is such a fine night and I would appreciate a little company! Also, Ningame is at your house, so I’ll need to visit anyway.”

Smirking a little, Kakashi let it slide. He often felt magnanimous toward Guy, like he was doing the other jounin a favor by letting him hang around, but that hadn’t really been the case for a long time. Guy had protected Naruto when Kakashi couldn’t have. Even if Kakashi had managed to intercept the Mist shinobi before they attacked Naruto, which he clearly would not have, he barely had the chakra to suicide protecting the boy. Whatever power of survival that Guy had, he had shared it with Minato’s son.

More importantly, Kakashi liked walking with Guy when he wasn’t dashing ahead or trying to make a challenge of everything. All of that had its place, of course, but there was something peaceful about plodding home next to him after a long day, staring at the bright stars, and listening to him plan his training regime for the next morning. Kakashi enjoyed Guy’s company. Maybe he always had.

Ningame was already in the bath when Kakashi and Guy made it home. On a normal day, Naruto might have chanced that the turtle counted as proper supervision and gotten into the tub, but the earlier action must have made him nervous. The boy was clean and waiting patiently on the side of the bath as he usually did when Kakashi needed a shower. Clearly, seeing his guardian covered in blood made the boy feel more compliant. Kakashi had no intention of repeating the display to retain the benefit.

“You can get in with Ningame,” Kakashi said, stripping out of the bloody costume. Fortunately, it wasn’t a valuable uniform, so he could just burn the thing instead of worrying about cleaning it.

“I should probably go, soon,” Guy said politely, gathering up Kakashi’s discarded clothing.

“Don’t hurt Naruto’s feelings now, Guy.”

The man’s eyes widened and he looked from Kakashi to Naruto, who was still just looking cautiously at Kakashi like he might keel over at any second. “And how might I be hurting young Naruto’s feelings?” Guy asked, humoring his friend.

“By refusing to take a bath with us. Don’t you like us?”

“Ah.”

“You can take a bath with me if you want to, you know,” Naruto added helpfully from the tub. “I’m a turtle and I can blow all the bubbles.”

Stripping obediently, Guy followed Kakashi into the shower. While Kakashi was perfectly capable of slumping onto the stool and waving the shower wand over his body, he was lazy enough to let Guy wash the dye out of his hair. Strong hands massaging his back as they scrubbed away the dried blood and gore of his brief fight were also very welcome. Kakashi returned the favor, of course, lazily swiping the soapy sponge over Guy’s back a few times, but Guy had nothing except the sweat of the day clinging to his skin.

“Some of those cuts look serious, Kakashi.” Guy was whispering in Kakashi’s ear so that the noise of the spray covered his words and Naruto remained blissfully oblivious. It had been a long time since anyone whispered in Kakashi’s ear just for fun. It was a shame he was too tired to make the most of it.

Nodding obediently, Kakashi used the last of his chakra on a simple transformation. “Thanks for the warning,” he said, stepping gracelessly out of the shower. Guy caught his wrist, looking very serious.

“Kakashi.”

Kakashi looked down at the illusion of his completely unscarred body. He put a hand to his face, but the washcloth tied around the lower half of his face was very real and not at all illusory. “Do I need to wash more?” He was so tired, he just wanted to soak and then sleep.

“You’ll let me dress your wounds after the bath,” Guy demanded quietly.

Shrugging his agreement, Kakashi slipped into the tub next to Naruto.

“You look a lot better now,” the boy said happily. “You must have fought a lot of bad guys to get that much blood on you. Why were you wearing such a funny outfit? Do you want to play turtles with me and Ningame?”

“Can I play turtles?” Guy asked quickly, distracting Naruto.

Agreeing, Naruto showed Guy how to crawl on all fours on the bench and blow bubbles in the water. Ningame instructed them both in methods of submerging everything but their eyes and the tip of their noses so that they could spy more effectively. This was a big hit with Naruto. Kakashi enjoyed watching them play, but he found his right eye drifting shut as they splashed around together.

A light hand tapping his cheek woke him after an indeterminate amount of time. “Bedtime, Kakashi,” Naruto was saying softly. “Mister Guy says you shouldn’t sleep in the bathtub.”

“Mister Guy is pretty smart,” Kakashi rumbled, blinking his ordinary eye open and remembering to keep his Sharingan shut by force of will. Lurching out of the bath, Kakashi wrapped a towel around himself while Guy bundled Naruto up in another

“Look, Rival! I’ve got a whole roll of Naruto!” Kakashi managed a soft smile, but it couldn’t compete with Naruto’s gasping giggles or his rival’s roar of laughter. Instead, he slowly slipped into his pajamas while Guy was tickling the boy, padding away to find something Guy could wear that wasn’t his soiled uniform. Luckily he had a stretched out pair of pajama bottoms that would fit the taijutsu master’s larger frame and a black t-shirt that would be far too tight, but would at least save Guy from sleeping naked.

By the time he wandered back into the bathroom, Ningame was gone and Naruto was wearing his blue pajamas with little green frogs. Kakashi tossed the spare clothes to a pleased-looking Guy and took Naruto’s hand as the boy scampered happily toward his bedroom.

“How about I just read you and Guy a story tonight?” Naruto offered earnestly. “You seem really sleepy, and anyway you weren’t supposed to be back for another two whole days, so it’s okay if you don’t tell me anything about the Fourth Hokage tonight.”

“Thanks, Naruto,” Kakashi said appreciatively. It was obvious how little the boy wanted to be taken up on the offer, but the sympathy was genuine. “I’ll tell you two stories for bedtime tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay,” Naruto agreed, smiling sweetly. “I love you, Kakashi.”

That was new. Not entirely unexpected, but new. Generally children picked up a few bad habits when they started school, but Kakashi wondered where it had come from. Shikamaru wasn’t the type, and Choji had been fine during their earlier association. Maybe the teacher, if he was already over the earlier conflict with Naruto. Iruka seemed like the sort to go on about feelings.

Kakashi wasn’t sure what the appropriate response should be. He remembered saying something similar to his mother when he was very young. She had been very excited because he’d never said a full sentence before. She’d insisted he repeat the phrase to his gruffly smiling father and anyone else who would listen. Everyone had been very impressed that he could speak so clearly. The content hadn’t mattered much to anyone. It seemed that his mother had disappeared shortly thereafter, and his father stopped smiling quite as often. Logically then, he must have been about a year old at the time, since the mission that took her life had happened shortly before his first birthday.

Kakashi had never told his father that he loved him. The only time his father had said those words to Kakashi, Sakumo had looked up suddenly during a breakfast he had hardly touched. “I love you son,” the disgraced shinobi had said seriously.

Not knowing how to respond to such an unexpected sentiment, Kakashi had offered a tentative smile. “Things will be better now, Father,” he’d said hopefully and Sakumo had agreed. When Kakashi had returned home at the end of the day, it had been to discover his father’s dead body lying in a sticky pool of slowly congealing blood.

Of course, Kakashi knew what the traditional response was—the one that Naruto probably wanted to hear—but simply echoing the boy’s words felt wrong. If Kakashi sometimes offered improbable examples when the boy’s questions got out of hand, he prided himself on generally being honest with Naruto. 

Avoiding the issue seemed to be the best choice in the short term. Ruffling the boy’s messy blond hair, he told him to pick out a book quickly before Guy joined them. The book Naruto chose was mercifully short and Guy kept his usual questions to a minimum.

“Good night, Naruto,” Kakashi said, as was their usual way. “Do you need anything?”

With wide eyes the boy nodded slowly. Usually he wanted a glass of water or some thinly veiled excuse to stay up late. “Can I put a trap in front of my window? In case the bad guys come back, you know?”

Kakashi hesitated. It was exactly the kind of tactic that Naruto would use to delay bedtime. However, it had been an unusual day. If the boy was really frightened, Kakashi didn’t want to dismiss him. A little paranoia was healthy for a shinobi.

As a compromise, Kakashi quickly strung two trip wires across the open window, a dummy one and a well-hidden one in the shadows. Both were connected to bells and senbon—nothing deadly unless the assailant was particularly clumsy—and for Kakashi it was the work of a few seconds. “You can practice setting traps tomorrow,” he said, somewhat apologetically. “It’s time for bed. After all, you have school in the morning. Do you need anything else?”

“Will you put a trap in front of your window, too?”

“I promise.”

“Okay, then. Good night, Kakashi.” Naruto yawned. “I love you.”

“Good night, Naruto.”

As soon as Naruto was settled, Guy bullied Kakashi into his bedroom and got out the med kit. Cleaning all of Kakashi’s little wounds with peroxide even though he’d just washed them with soap and water seemed a little abusive, not to mention a waste of time when all Kakashi wanted was a little sleep. Humoring one’s friends was an art form, however, and Kakashi stayed perfectly still as Guy carefully put ointment and bandages on all of his wounds. Then, when Guy was finally finished, he could hardly protest about Kakashi pulling him into the big double bed.

“Rival! What are you doing?” Guy asked scandalized, because apparently he could protest just about anything.

“Going to sleep,” Kakashi said wearily. “Stick around. It’s a windy night and I might need a space heater.”

“Kakashi! Is this—I don’t understand.” Guy looked half panicked. Not the expression Kakashi had imagined on his face if he ever asked the man to bed.

“There’s a futon in the next room if you prefer,” Kakashi relented, loosening his hold.

“Oh,” Guy said softly, settling in next to his friend. “I’m sorry, Rival, I didn’t understand.”

Relaxing, Kakashi closed his eyes. He didn’t need an apology; he just needed Guy to stay.

“I thought, since you didn’t use the Sharingan, it wouldn’t be this way.”

“I used the Flying Thunder God,” Kakashi said, yawning. “From a different country. Tomorrow is going to be a little rough for me.”

“Sleep well, my friend. No enemies will come while I am here.”

It was a ridiculous thing to say. Of course they might. That was why Kakashi wanted Guy to stick around. But he didn’t argue the point, just took a deep breath and released it as he let his consciousness float away. Force of will had been all that was keeping him awake. It was easy to let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is not going to balloon out of control, I swear. I have an outline. I had a lot written before I ever started posting. But somehow, Ao made a cameo and this chapter turned into ten thousand words. I had to split it into two so that I could edit it properly. Anyway, this story is fourteen chapters now. I still know exactly where it's going an how to get there, though, so hopefully that's a good thing. I'm charging forward with the full power of youth! I'll finish this ~~jutsu~~ story in three days!


	12. Chapter 12

Kakashi slept like the dead with Guy’s comforting warmth next to him. Waking a few minutes before dawn, he cataloged all of the familiar symptoms of severe chakra depletion. His limbs were heavy and ached as though he’d spent hours straining against an immovable mountain. The throbbing, stabbing, pounding pain in his head was only made worse when Guy’s soft, low voice broke the silence of his bedroom.

“Sleep, Rival. I am keeping watch.”

“Naruto has school.” Kakashi’s voice sounded nearly as awful as he felt, hoarse and raspy, but saying it gave him the resolve he needed.

“I will see him safely there, Rival.”

Dragging his stiff, useless body out of bed, Kakashi started the slow, painful process of getting his uniform on. “The kid will worry if he knows I’m hurt,” he said reasonably. Guy watched him for a long moment. Then he took the ends of Kakashi’s forehead protector and fastened it over the Sharingan gently.

Quietly grateful, Kakashi accepted his friend’s help in getting his vest and sandals on as well. When Guy knelt to fasten Kakashi’s thigh holster, things took a momentary turn. The pain in his muscles vanished underneath Guy’s hands and Kakashi’s heart skipped a beat, but the moment passed. Kakashi was too exhausted for anything inappropriate or embarrassing to happen.

Since he barely had the energy to knock on Naruto’s door and recommend that the boy get a move on, Kakashi had little choice but to rely on Guy fix breakfast. Unfortunately, the smell of cooking eggs did little to help Kakashi’s headache, or his burgeoning nausea.

“Aren’t you going to have anything, Kakashi?” Naruto asked.

Given that his stomach was trying to reject the tea that Kakashi was barely managing to force down, “No. Not this morning. You can have the rest.”

“Thanks,” Naruto said, grinning happily as he dumped the rest of the well-browned eggs onto his plate and wolfed them down. “I’m pretty hungry from fighting those bad guys yesterday. Are they coming back today?”

“Since they didn’t make a second attempt last night when they had the advantage, I doubt it,” Kakashi said, hoping that whoever took the throne next in the Land of Water would be grateful enough for the sudden vacancy that they stopped coming after him. Bad luck and curses could be conclusively disproven by statistical mathematics, so it stood to reason that even Kakashi might catch a break eventually.

Walking Naruto to school was agony, but at least Guy was there to catch the boy when he tried to leap onto Kakashi’s back, requesting a ride. Sometimes trying to keep the most unpredictable kid in the village happy could be slightly inconvenient. Everything was easier with Guy, who swung the child up to his shoulders cheerfully.

Naruto was perfectly happy with this compromise. Giggling, he pounded on Guy’s head to get his attention. “I love you, Mister Guy! You’re the people I love.”

The big jounin was incredibly touched. Grinning up at Naruto, he tossed the boy high into the air, catching him and spinning him in a great circle. “I love you too! Indeed, young warrior, I consider it a privilege and a joy to share the closeness I do with your little family.”

Hugging Naruto close, Guy carried him the rest of the way to school on his hip, even though the six year old was really much too big to be carried like a small child. When they finally arrived, after what seemed like hours to Kakashi’s aching body, the boy squeezed Guy’s neck one last time then hopped down to skip happily toward the school building. Iruka Umino was the teacher ushering students through the door and Naruto was almost to him when he turned around and sprinted back to Kakashi, crashing into his abdomen painfully. There was no tactful way for Guy to intercept, so Kakashi bore the pain stoically, patting the boy gingerly on the back.

Tapping Naruto on the shoulder, Iruka smiled and suggested that he head into the classroom.

“This is Mister Guy and my big brother Kakashi, Iruka-sensei,” Naruto said, excitedly introducing them both. Thankfully, Iruka did not say anything derisive about his prior meetings with Kakashi. “They’re the people that I love, you know!”

“Well then I’m honored to meet them both properly,” the teacher said. “Mister Guy I of course recall from your first day of school. Mr. Hatake, the second.”

“Pleasure,” was all that Kakashi could manage in a slightly bored, casual voice. Anything more and some of the pain would surely bleed through to his demeanor.

“Indeed, teaching is a noble and honorable profession,” Guy declared, picking up the slack. “That you should shepherd Naruto’s young mind through the fertile fields of knowledge, honing the blade of his youthful enthusiasm, is a terrific duty. We are grateful that you appear equal to the challenge.”

Iruka’s friendly smile took on a slightly bemused note, which was not unusual for people unaccustomed to Guy. “Shikamaru’s already in the classroom, Naruto. Why don’t you head in and get some of your chatting out of the way so I don’t have to scold you again today.”

Without any sign that he heard or understood the warning, Naruto dashed into the school building, shouting a goodbye to Kakashi and just barely remembering to hug Guy one last time.

“Are you okay?” Iruka asked immediately, looking truly concerned about Kakashi’s wellbeing. Clearly, he was a decent shinobi, both for noticing that Kakashi was injured, and for not indicating as much while Naruto was within earshot.

“My Eternal Rival had a very difficult mission yesterday, but he will recover admirably! I am assisting him in his duties as young Naruto’s guardian until he is completely well.”

“I’m fine,” Kakashi said, scowling at Guy. A ninja didn’t advertise weakness. Especially not if enemies might still be near.

“Of course,” Iruka said quickly. “I only ask in case you want me to keep Naruto for a while after school ends. I would be happy to see him home for you, if that would make things easier. Both of my parents were shinobi, so I know how hard it can be to juggle duty with a family.”

“That’s quite a turnaround for you,” Kakashi observed curiously. Things had been settled somewhat by Naruto’s prank and Iruka’s scolding, but he was surprised that the man would volunteer to spend his free time with Naruto.

“Ah, I suppose it is.” Iruka blushed a deep red, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. “You were right, Mr. Hatake. Naruto is a bit of a handful. I thought he was disruptive before, when you were intercepting almost all of his little jokes.”

“He’s a problem?” Kakashi wasn’t sure why that would make Iruka volunteer to spend more time with the boy, unless he meant that Naruto would probably earn a detention.

“No, well, yes, but he’s my favorite student.” Laughing uncomfortably, Iruka glanced around to make sure none of the other teachers or parents in the schoolyard could hear him. “On Friday I had all of the students talk about the reason they wanted to become shinobi. Standard stuff for a first year class, as I’m sure you know. Naruto’s friend Choji mentioned wanting to uphold the honor of his clan, a very common answer, and Shikamaru said he thought it would be a pretty easy career with plenty of down time. Naruto was the only one who said that he wanted to be a strong Hokage so that he could protect the village and the people he cared about. He’s a remarkable child.”

“You rephrased that for him.”

“Excuse me?” Iruka looked confused, but Kakashi was in too much pain to beat around the bush.

“Naruto said he wanted to protect the people that are important to him, and you told him you thought that wanting to protect the people he loved was an admirable goal.”

“Probably,” Iruka said slowly. “I wanted the other students to think about Naruto’s words.”

“Fine,” Kakashi said. Knowing the circumstances under which the behavior had been acquired wasn’t really useful. It was probably too late to dissuade Naruto politely, not after Guy had reinforced it so firmly. Kakashi would have to figure out another way to deal with it. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Huh?”

“My rival most assuredly values every part of young Naruto’s education and understands that every portion of it matters. I suspect that in his own way he means to beg for your forgiveness, Iruka-sensei. He is overtired and, if not badly injured enough to permit hospitalization, in a great deal of physical pain. Though of course his fortitude and innate strength of character prevent him from saying as much. Please excuse us so that he might take his rest.”

“Oh, of course. I’m sorry for keeping you.”

“It’s fine,” Kakashi said again.

“Would you like me to see Naruto home this afternoon?”

Seizing the chunin’s arm with what strength he could muster, Kakashi said, “Naruto is not to know that I’m hurt. He worries.”

The teacher smiled, as though he didn’t even hear the threat in Kakashi’s words or feel the bone cracking grip. “Naturally. I can make up an excuse. Maybe I’ll take him for ramen. We both like Ichiraku a lot.”

“No, thank you,” Kakashi said, releasing the man. “I’ll come. Routine is important.”

“As you prefer,” Iruka said. “If you can’t I’ll understand.” He was so friendly and helpful that Kakashi really did forgive him for putting thoughts of love into Naruto’s impressionable young mind. It wasn’t the teacher’s fault that Kakashi didn’t know how to deal with that sort of thing. Anyway, it might not be so bad. Minato-sensei probably would have wanted Naruto to feel the sense of security that came with words like love. Kakashi didn’t have to say or do anything, really, just let the boy assume what he would. As long as it made the kid happy, there was probably no harm in it. 

Kakashi was willing to leave it at that. Turning around to trudge away was apparently too rude for Guy’s liking, however, and the big man stayed to bow and scrape obsequiously, saying goodbye and apologizing on Kakashi’s behalf. Unfortunately, Kakashi was moving so slowly that it didn’t take Guy long to catch up.

“You might at least have said goodbye, Rival. Iruka-sensei is very nice young man who took time out of his morning to give us a kind report on Naruto’s class work. Furthermore, he is our young warrior’s teacher, and it would be best to cultivate a friendly relationship with him so that we might all work together to help Naruto achieve his dreams of becoming an excellent shinobi.”

Kakashi didn’t even waste the breath it would take to grunt a negative.

Looking at Kakashi out of the corner of his eye, Guy suddenly seemed more sympathetic about the rudeness. “I could use a little weight training,” he said almost casually. “Would you allow me to carry you home, Rival?”

“No.” Kakashi had his dignity. Not much of it, but if he protected the little remaining, he might still be able to sleep at night. Of course, even the single word cost him energy that he couldn’t spare.

Guy accepted Kakashi’s denial and started talking about the weather. It was, apparently, a perfect day for training. That was to say, it was a day that Guy didn’t have a mission. The taijutsu master would train as happily during a typhoon as he would on a blisteringly hot day. Moodily, Kakashi hoped that the perfect, mild weather would be detrimental to Guy’s training or self image, just out of spite.

The sudden smoke bomb caught him off guard, but it was Guy who grabbed him. Sweeping Kakashi up into his arms while the Copy Ninja scanned for enemies, Guy was running across rooftops carrying his friend bridal style before the man even realized that Guy had been the one to drop the bomb.

“Put me down,” Kakashi demanded through gritted teeth.

“But Rival,” Guy said slowly, still racing at top speed toward Kakashi’s house, “I promise that no one will see us. If no one sees me carrying you, then how can you be embarrassed?”

“I am not embarrassed, Guy. I can walk on my own. Put me down.”

“Oh, well, of course,” said Guy, still running. “If that is what you wish, Rival, I will gladly let you walk under your own power. Are you absolutely positive, though, my most worthy opponent? I only ask because—“

“Put me down right now or I will hurt you, Guy.”

“As you wish.” Guy set Kakashi down at the gate to his house. The boy who could barely run a lap around the academy yard had crossed the village in the space of a few sentences. Kakashi hated him a little, and hated himself even more for being grateful.

“I could have walked,” he said sullenly.

“You can do anything that you set your mind to, Rival! I would never dream of doubting your abilities! Even you need rest to recover, though. Pushing yourself today will only extend the duration of your infirmity.”

Ignoring the pushy, interfering busybody, Kakashi stalked into his room, shrugged out of his vest, and grumpily collapsed on his bed. Creeping in after him, Guy quietly undid the laces of his boots and slipped them off. Kakashi didn’t thank him, but he did shift so that his entire body was on the bed.

“Is there anything that I can get for you?”

“Go bench press something,” Kakashi grunted. The cool darkness of his room was welcome, but the promise of quiet was even more alluring.

After a moment of misleading silence, Guy murmured, “Accommodate me for but a moment more, Rival.” 

Slowly he brushed his warm hands over Kakashi’s temples and began massaging the back of Kakashi’s neck, working out some of the bone deep ache. Guy slipped off Kakashi’s lopsided forehead protector, and then stripped Kakashi down to his boxers as he gently massaged much of the pain away. In a perfect world, Kakashi would have been strong enough to push him away, but he was too much of a hedonist for that. He hid his face in a pillow, hoping that Guy couldn’t see more than the mask normally hid. Drifting off to sleep as Guy continued to rub Kakashi’s aching back, he realized that it didn’t matter. Everything would come to a head sooner or later, no matter what Kakashi tried to deny himself.

Kakashi woke the second he heard Iruka’s voice in his house, intruding where it should not have been.

“It was my pleasure,” the man was saying. “Ichiraku Ramen is my favorite, so any excuse, right?”

“Still, I must apologize, and to you as well, young Naruto. I was so wrapped up in my training that I failed to notice the lateness of the hour. Please believe that it was always my intention to pick Naruto up from school on time.”

“But Iruka-sensei said he’d worked it out with Kakashi?” Naruto interrupted, suddenly confused.

“He did,” Kakashi said quickly. Given the choice between trusting Guy’s sense of subtlety and putting on pants, he’d yanked on a facemask and sprinted to the front hallway where the conversation was taking place. While even Guy failed to notice him until he spoke, which he only did once he was leaning easily against the wall, he missed casual by quite a bit. “We spoke this morning when I dropped you off.”

“Kakashi! Are you hurt? Why are you all bandaged up, you know?”

Cursing inwardly, Kakashi realized that he should have left things to Guy after all. “These are just training bandages, like the ones in your books,” he lied.

“Then why aren’t you wearing any clothes?”

“Because I got mine dirty while I was training and they need to be washed.”

“But why were you training? Iruka-sensei said you had to go to a debriefing about a mission, you know.”

“Kakashi was hurt on his mission yesterday,” Guy said, because he was a traitor and his overblown sense of morality wouldn’t let him stand by while Kakashi lied to Naruto.

Naruto, just as Kakashi expected, began to cry. “I knew you were hurt,” he whimpered sadly. “You fell asleep in the bath. You never fall asleep at bath time.”

“No,” Kakashi said, kneeling and putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder, accepting the hot, wet hug that immediately followed. “No, I’m not hurt, not really. I just got a little scratched up, that’s all.”

“You should take Mister Guy on your missions with you, you know. Then you wouldn’t get hurt.”

Offended, Kakashi argued, “But then who would have been here to protect you?”

“I can take care of myself, you know!” Tears and childish snot were being rubbed directly into Kakashi’s shoulder, since he had no shirt to shield him. Still, he put a comforting hand on the back of the boy’s head and pulled him closer, cuddling the child against his wounded chest.

“I know you can, and so can I. Really, Naruto. I could fight another dozen Mist Nin if they turned up today. I shouldn’t have asked Iruka-sensei to watch you just because I’m feeling a little tired.”

“You need to rest to get better. That’s what you said about Mister Guy when he got hurt, you know.”

“I remember.”

“We should have brought you some ramen,” the boy continued, apparently done crying, but still holding Kakashi tightly. “You need to eat and rest, you know.”

“I’m fine, Naruto. We’ll have a nice bath and then I’ll tell you two stories, just like I promised, okay?”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. I slept all day. I can manage to stay awake for long enough to put you to bed. Now say thank you to Iruka-sensei for watching you long after all of his less troublesome students went home.”

Iruka laughed.

“Thank you for treating me to some ramen, Iruka-sensei. You’re the best teacher I ever had, you know.”

“You’re very welcome, Naruto.”

Normally, Kakashi would file the expense of Naruto’s two, maybe even three, bowls of ramen as something the teacher brought on himself by interfering. In this case, however, the blame could be placed elsewhere. “Can Guy give you some money? Since we all know that he deliberately forgot to wake me up because he’s an interfering old grandmother who apparently cares so much about other people that he needs to make Naruto cry?”

Coughing, Guy got out his wallet. “Of course, Iruka-sensei. What do we owe you?”

“Nothing at all,” Iruka said, smiling cheerfully. “Naruto did very well in class today. Refraining from putting a lizard down Little Sakura’s dress was clearly very difficult for him. He deserved a treat.”

Kakashi laughed and remembered what he knew of Sakura Haruno. The daughter of two shinobi, a respectable older jounin and a genin, she wasn’t a member of any clan in particular. “She’s a cute girl. Does my little Naruto have a crush?”

“What? No! Girls are icky, Kakashi!”

Kakashi wasn’t sure what to do with that. Some of the most powerful shinobi he knew were women. Naruto had met Kurenai, though he hadn’t seen her genjutsu and wouldn’t be able to appreciate that it was the best in the village if he did. There had to be some way to demonstrate that women were trustworthy comrades who did not deserve to have lizards placed down their dresses.

“Now, Naruto, your kunoichi classmates deserve your respect,” Guy scolded. “They work just as hard as you do.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Naruto repeated, “Shikamaru says girls are troublesome and icky.”

“Shikamaru’s mother has cooked dinner for you dozens of times,” Kakashi observed, bemused.

“Yeah? What does that have to do with anything?”

“You don’t seem to find the food she prepares icky.”

“Mrs. Nara isn’t a girl, silly, she’s a grown up!”

Iruka laughed. “Ah, to be a jounin, with the courage to fight a losing battle. I’ll leave you gentlemen to it.”

“Of course. Thank you so much, Iruka-sensei. Are you sure we can’t offer you anything for your time or to offset the cost of this little monster’s appetite?” Kakashi smiled. He was mostly naked, covered in Guy’s overzealous first aid attempts, and still pretty tired, but he could be charming when he made the effort.

Protesting that he wasn’t a monster, Naruto tried to attack Kakashi, who caught the boy easily in one arm and tickled his stomach almost absently with the other hand. Devolving into helpless giggles, the boy was no longer in a position to object to anything Kakashi chose to say.

Iruka returned the smile. “Really, it was my pleasure. I’d be happy to do it again any time. See you bright and early tomorrow, Naruto.”

“Bye, Iruka-sensei,” Naruto gasped, shoving Kakashi’s hand away for long enough to bid his teacher farewell. “I love you.”

“Oh, well, that is to say, I love you, too, Naruto,” the teacher said mistily, turning away very quickly. “Goodbye.”

For a child who had been essentially stuck with his teacher for an entire day, Naruto had very little interest in playing with his toys. He wanted to make Kakashi eat something and refused to be satisfied until Kakashi invented a favorite food that Naruto could get for him. Not trusting either Naruto or Guy to cook for him, Kakashi requested grapes. Then, even though it was still early, Naruto insisted that it was bath time. During his bath he didn’t even want to play until Kakashi encouraged him a little, pretending to be a pirate captain. It was worth it to hear the boy laughing at Guy’s impression of an evil whale.

Story time was also a little challenging. Two stories about the Fourth Hokage were nothing. Kakashi had a thousand stories about Minato-sensei that he wanted to tell Naruto. Unfortunately, Naruto wanted a story about a time that the Fourth Hokage had been weak. Kakashi couldn’t think of a single one.

The closest he could come was the time Minato-sensei had taken a knife to the gut while fighting six enemy jounin backed up by a veritable army of lesser shinobi. The wound was a deep one, the kind that led to almost immediate sepsis if a medic wasn’t on hand, but he had to keep fighting while Rin healed him. It had actually been almost funny at the time. Because Minato-sensei needed to keep teleporting, she’d been essentially riding on his back, healing him while he fought. He still managed to take out all of the enemies, with a little backup from Kakashi while Obito protected the civilians.

For a second story the best he could manage was when the entire team caught the flu while in the field. Sensei had actually been better off than everyone else, hardly showing any symptoms, but he’d taken care of the rest of them while finishing the mission. One of Kakashi’s most comforting memories was feverishly killing an attacker with a thermometer to protect Rin and an unconscious Obito. Arriving seconds later, Minato-sensei had looked at him with pride and respect. Then he’d spent the rest of the night taking care of them, changing the compress on Kakashi’s head and brushing his hair back away from his sweat slicked face.

Kakashi left that part out of the story, but he tried to make it as clear as possible that it was okay to admit weakness. The Fourth Hokage of Kakashi’s story sought medical attention whenever he was hurt. For all Kakashi could remember, Minato-sensei always had. He’d certainly always encouraged Kakashi to do so. Snuggling into his blankets, Naruto asked, “So why do you pretend you aren’t hurt when you are?”

“I didn’t want to worry you,” Kakashi said honestly.

Naruto blinked up at him with sleepy blue eyes. “I love you Kakashi.”

“You’re a good boy, Naruto.” Gently stroking the messy blond hair back away from his face, Kakashi brushed his mask against the child’s cheek. “Do you need anything?”

“Nuh-uh.” Naruto shook his head sleepily.

“Then good night.”

“Good night, Kakashi.”

Waiting outside of Naruto’s room, Guy looked a little uncertain. “I suppose I should leave you to your rest as well, Rival?”

“Stick around if you want,” Kakashi said casually. “We can set up the futon tonight if you want, or you could bunk in with me again.”

Smiling with just a touch of condescension, Guy asked if Kakashi was still feeling under the weather.

“I’m fine,” Kakashi said, because he was. He could handle another attacker if one came, but he was still thinking about Minato-sensei’s hand on his forehead and Guy’s strong hands on his back. He still ached all over, and he thought that just maybe he wouldn’t mind another personal luxury. Drifting off to sleep with Guy’s warmth next to him and the soft lull of his snoring would be nice. It didn’t need to be anything more than that. 

Guy winked. “Of course. I understand completely.”

He didn’t, but Kakashi was fine with the misunderstanding because Guy settled into bed and closed his eyes. It was so, so easy for Kakashi to fall asleep next to him.

Waking up in the middle of the night with Guy curled around him pressing between his legs was something of a surprise. The way Guy was mouthing at Kakashi’s ear was even more of one, but it didn’t follow that such a surprise need be unwelcome. While he hadn’t planned to gratify either himself or Guy to quite that extent, he was aroused. It could potentially be a good idea to allow more of an indulgence. 

Turning in Guy’s arms, Kakashi looked up into dark, half lidded eyes. Guy tugged off the thin mask that Kakashi was wearing to sleep and brushed their lips together. Guy’s mouth was dry with sleep and he kissed like he was trying to envelope the lower part of Kakashi’s face, but when Kakashi caught his jaw gently with one hand, things evened out. When a gentler, less demanding tongue slipped into Kakashi’s mouth, he surrendered completely. 

Guy was pretty focused on divesting them both of their clothing, which was fine, because neither of them were wearing much. Kakashi did keep his left eye closed, to avoid wasting all of the chakra he’d recovered. He had that much self control. He wasn’t going to let things go completely off the rails. At least, he tried.

“Open your eyes,” Guy murmured, rolling on top of him and sucking on Kakashi’s neck. It was not a good argument. Kakashi was not going to let his hormones turn it into a good argument.

“I’m not going to use the Sharingan in bed, Guy. It’s a waste of chakra.” Kakashi had given up everything else, even his mask, without argument. Opening his Sharingan would drain his chakra, let him read Guy’s moves, and burn every second of this into his memory forever.

“I want,” Guy murmured again, humping ineffectively against Kakashi’s hip.

“Yeah okay,” he agreed helplessly, looking up into the dark, half shuttered eyes of his rival.

Nothing about Guy could be called beautiful. Everywhere he had skin he had scars, but the way his body moved and stroked with half sleepy intent was inspiring. Lost in languid kisses, it took Kakashi a while to realize that there was nothing in Guy’s movements to match his own building need. Whenever Kakashi reached for his rival and tried to turn the touches to something serious, Guy would shift in just the wrong direction, almost like a deliberate dodge.

“Guy,” Kakashi asked desperately, “What exactly do you want?” Guy wasn’t exactly clumsy, but his roaming hands were directionless. He turned Kakashi’s hips at a strange angle while meeting his lips for a kiss. He lifted Kakashi’s leg with one knee while holding his shoulders in too firm a grip.

Pulling back, Guy grinned in the dopiest, sleepiest expression that Kakashi had ever seen. The whole world was warm and happy and Kakashi wanted to live in that moment for the rest of his life. “I want to make love to you.” Of course Guy would use euphemisms, the man couldn’t call a plan of attack without referring to at least six natural phenomena.

“Yeah, okay,” he said again, just as helplessly. Love was a bit more than he expected from a midnight grope, but suddenly, like a picture coming into focus, he wanted that too. He wanted the apron lifestyle. He wanted it with Guy. The future stretched out before him, and for the first time it looked genuinely bright. Being with Guy would be almost as much work as taking in Naruto. Both of them were demanding, high energy, and desperate for attention, but that could work out for the best. They already got along well with each other, and Kakashi was happier with Naruto than he had been alone, he could admit that much. In bed with Guy, Naruto safely asleep in the next room, Kakashi was the happiest he’d ever been. Love was the biggest risk in a shinobi’s life, but in that moment, it seemed like the rewards were worth the price. It was a calculated risk that Kakashi was willing to take. Not unlike the risk that Naruto would open his door at any moment looking for a glass of water or something. 

“Probably good to hurry,” he realized guiltily against Guy’s neck. “Can’t believe we’re doing this with the kid in the house.” 

“Kakashi!” Guy yelped like a wounded animal, jerking away and leaping out of bed, putting unwanted distance between them. Or rather, distance that Kakashi didn’t want. Apparently it was something Guy needed. “We were about to,” the big man stammered, staring at Kakashi with dawning horror. “We were going to have-” 

“Sex,” Kakashi offered neutrally, studying Guy with both eyes from his vantage on the bed. Keeping the sharingan open was probably unnecessary, but it would be foolish to aggravate his situation by failing to gather all possible information. Because Guy’s voice sounded like it had the day he’d realized what ANBU really meant, accusing and astounded. It didn’t matter if the taijutsu master was less articulate than his usual pontificating. Kakashi knew him well enough to hear the real questions. How could Kakashi slaughter a downed foe? How could Kakashi order his subordinate, a young boy, to kill in cold blood? How could Kakashi have so much darkness in him? How could garbage like Kakashi ever think he deserved a life in the sunlight with aprons and smiles and laughing children? 

Squawking like a throttled duck, Guy fell to the floor tangled in his clothes. 

“Try to be a little more quiet, please. Naruto sleeps pretty soundly, but they’re introducing clone techniques at school tomorrow and he still has a lot of trouble with ninjutsu.” 

“Ah, yes, well. I should probably be heading out then,” Guy said, an awkwardly apologetic hand on the back of his head. He was turned in the direction of the bed, but his eyes were closed and his smile was completely false. 

“Or you could stay,” Kakashi offered evenly. He knew he should let it go, let Guy go, but he couldn’t seem to give up gracefully. “It’s awkward with the kid around, I get it. We can try again after I ship him off to school.”

“Kakashi!” Guy’s eyes were wide and wild. He probably would wake Naruto shouting like that. It was ridiculous that Kakashi still felt desperately hopeful. Guy always overreacted. Guy also always chased after Kakashi. Surely the two hundred odd invitations to share a meal that Kakashi had refused over the years had to mean something. Surely Guy would accept an invitation of his own. 

“Stay.” Kakashi smiled gently, shifting his body up by propping his elbows behind his shoulders to give his muscles more definition. Despite the more inviting position, there was no flicker of interest or attraction in Guy’s panicked face. Kakashi tried one last time anyway. “I’ve changed. You’ll see it in the daylight. I’ll prove it to you once we see Naruto off to school, and every day after if you want. We’re a strange little family, but I think Naruto would like it if you were a permanent part of it.” 

The dismay in Guy’s face was too obvious. Kakashi didn’t need to burn that into his memory with the Sharingan. Closing his left eye he tried to keep his smile from dimming. “Or not. Whatever you want.”

“I’m sorry, Rival.” Choking a little Guy attempted to explain, but it wasn’t necessary. Whether the history of violence and immorality was the dealbreaker or Guy simply didn’t want Kakashi that way, the outcome was the same. It couldn’t be helped. Kakashi closed both of his eyes and let Guy leave.


	13. Chapter 13

In the dark, predawn eternity Kakashi had plenty of time to think. Clearly Guy, idiot that he was, had actually forgotten where he’d fallen asleep and woke up thinking he was in a dream. A dream about being in love. Normally that would be harmless, but Guy had muscles where his brains should be. Kakashi had been an idiot to try to take advantage without understanding his situation. He’d gambled, and he’d lost. That was the way of the world. 

Loss wasn’t anything new. It was almost a surprise that he had lost something at all. Too small to have been a hope, too insignificant to be a dream, but Kakashi had to acknowledge that there had, at some point, been a thought. A sense of pity that became basic respect. Respect that had turned into reluctant admiration. Admiration that had somehow inspired the thought. A thought about a future where Kakashi and Guy sometimes spent a little more time together. More recently, the impossible fantasy of Guy wearing an apron and shepherding Naruto off to school with a healthy lunch. It was nothing very significant, but Kakashi had to acknowledge that he regretted losing it: his tentative ideal of a better future. 

Wanting something he could never deserve was selfish. A shinobi was a tool; he had no business wanting things. He needed to focus on his duty, not his own desires. Especially when Naruto was performing so poorly at school. 

“I just can’t do it!” The boy slammed his fist into his practice post. Kakashi was pleased to see a few splinters of wood go flying with the blow. He was less pleased with Naruto’s frustrated outburst. 

“You don’t have a lot of chakra to work with,” Kakashi said carefully. He didn’t want to lie to Naruto; the boy already had more chakra than most adult shinobi, but it was being used for something more important than practicing ninjutsu. “That doesn’t mean you can’t do this. All you need is control.”

“Easy for you to say! You’re a genius! Everyone says so!”

“I also have unusually low chakra.”

Naruto looked surprised. 

“I was born that way. Even Guy has more chakra than I do.”

“But you do ninjutsu all the time. Why not do Taijutsu like he does, if you don’t have chakra?”

Kakashi smiled. “Eh. I’m too lazy for all that running around. I do taijutsu sometimes, when that’s the easiest way, but usually there’s a good ninjutsu that will be easier.”

“Hah! Ninjutsu is never easy for me!” 

“That’s the trick, Naruto. You have to use your resources more efficiently. Look.” Kakashi picked up a metal bucket full of water lying around from his earlier haphazard attempts to turn the gardens into something respectable. He tossed it at the practice post. It splashed everywhere, wetting the post a little. 

“What’s the point of that?”

“Didn’t do much, did it?” Kakashi agreed, making a few seals and watching the water float up from the ground and gather in a bubble. “But with a little focus, the same amount of water can do a lot more.” Kakashi shot the water at the post in a small, tight stream. It blasted the post, drilling a hole deep into the wood. The boy looked thoughtful. 

“So you make it faster and smaller? That’s what you do with your chakra? But I don’t know how to do that, you know.”

Kakashi very carefully didn’t laugh. Naruto’s perspective was always unique. Plucking a leaf from one of the bushes, he suggested, “Try focusing with your mind.” 

Using the tiniest bit of chakra, he affixed the leaf to his fingertip, holding it upside down to demonstrate, then drawing patterns in the air with it to show off because Naruto was grinning. After a few moments, he tapped the leaf against Naruto’s forehead and stuck it there loosely. “This is an exercise as old as the village. Focus your chakra on the leaf and try to keep it right here on your forehead.”

“Kakashi! I don’t have time for this! I have to practice my clones. Most of the class can do really good ones and I can’t do it at all.” 

“You have to have bricks before you can build, Naruto. Learn to control your chakra and the rest will come.” 

Scrunching his little face in a determined scowl, Naruto nodded and began concentrating. It was barely a minute before a light breeze caught the leaf and pulled it from the boy’s forehead, but he snatched it back and continued to work with his usual fierce resolve. Kakashi couldn’t keep the smile from his face. The exercise would help Naruto grow stronger, certainly, but it was also adorable. Kakashi wanted to take a picture of the boy right now and show it to everyone who doubted that the child would one day be as great as his father. It was a foolish impulse. Instead, he moved to the training post and began working on his own form. Setting a good example was far more important than taking photographs. 

Even with half an eye on Naruto’s training, taijutsu never fully occupied Kakashi’s mind. It was important to practice. Building his physical strength was one of the only ways to increase his available chakra, and Kakashi hadn’t been lying when he said his was naturally low. Physical exercises bored him, though. They left his mind unoccupied, and without a distraction, working on taijutsu, his thoughts inevitably drifted to Guy. 

Guy was gone. He’d been picking up mission after mission, barely taking a night’s rest in the village before going off on another month long sojourn. There had been two challenges, a game of ping pong and a foot race, both in front of Naruto and immediately followed by Guy treating them to Ichiraku ramen. After which they parted cheerfully, with fake smiles for each other and real affection for Naruto. It was horrible. 

Kakashi wanted to hit him, so he had been very careful to insist on challenges that gave them a little physical distance. It was not that surprising that Guy seemed to feel the same way. After all, Guy was the one who really wanted distance. Even the game of ping pong had almost been too much for Kakashi, a little of the usual fire from their rivalry sparking into lightning as they competed. Knowing that his feelings weren’t requited wasn’t enough to keep Kakashi from having them. Guy must have noticed, because he left for a month the next morning, and when he returned he chose a foot race for the next challenge so he wouldn’t be forced to meet Kakashi’s eye. It didn’t matter. 

Kakashi didn’t need Guy. Maybe the weird domestic dream would have made him happy, but it probably would have been too much. Guy would always insist on food that was too sweet or too spicy for dinner. He would have wanted to spar for hours every day. He probably would have wanted to have sex more often than an ordinary person, too. Kakashi stopped that train of thought. It wasn’t helpful. 

Anyway, it would certainly have been an enormous risk, gambling the stability Naruto had finally found on a volatile romance between two men in a dangerous profession. Besides, Kakashi was already as happy as he had ever been. Falling in love would just be tempting fate. As if on cue, Naruto started laughing happily. 

“I’ve got it!” He shouted, kicking up into a handstand. It seemed to be true. The leaf stayed on the boy’s forehead even as he walked on his hands and cartwheeled around the yard. Kakashi glanced at the sun. They had been training hard. He should have called a pause for dinner hours earlier. Yet again, he’d allowed his emotional dithering about something he couldn’t have distract him from what he did. 

“Well done,” he said, letting the pride he felt come through in his voice. “Hard work like that deserves a treat.”

“You deserve a treat too, then!” Naruto said, doing a backflip and keeping the leaf firmly on his forehead with chakra. “You punched all the way through the post, you know.”

It wasn’t something to be proud of. He’d need to replace it while Naruto was at school. The post had been wider than three men together and solid oak. If Kakashi had been focusing on his training instead of his emotions, he wouldn’t have needed to damage it at all. “Ichiraku, then?” He suggested cheerfully, wiping sweat from his forehead with one sleeve. 

“Yes!” Naruto punched the air joyfully, leaping to the top of the garden wall, apparently in to much of a hurry to bother with the gate. Forgotten, the leaf fluttered from his forehead and drifted to the ground. “And after that you can help me with my clones!” 

“It’s late. Dinner first, then bed.” 

“But Kakashi,” the boy whined, leading the way into the village, “We’re going to work on them in class again tomorrow. I have to be ready.” 

“You have to be well rested. You worked hard today, but you’re not going to master everything all at once.”

“I can try!”

“To become strong, you can try to lift many stones one time, but the surer path is to-” 

“Lift one stone many times,” Naruto interrupted, rolling his eyes. “I know. You’ve said that a million, billion times.” 

Kakashi ruffled the boy’s blonde hair affectionately, letting his thumb brush the spot on the boy’s forehead where a leaf had been and would one day be etched in protective steel. “The Fourth Hokage said it.” He had said it over and over again, always to Obito, trying to keep him from measuring his progress with the things Kakashi found effortless. It was a valuable lesson for Naruto. After all, Obito had been stronger than Kakashi in the end. 

Naruto scowled and pushed Kakashi’s hand away. “When I’m Hokage, are you going to repeat everything I say all the time?”

 

Laughing, Kakashi followed the boy to the ramen stand. “When you’re Hokage I’ll probably be struck mute with surprise.”

“Promise?”

“And pride,” Kakashi said, relenting. Immediately Naruto’s little face softened and his eyes shimmered with pure happiness. 

“I will make you proud of me, you know,” the boy said firmly, looking away and hoisting himself onto one of the tall stools. 

“I am proud of you. You worked hard today. Order anything you like for your treat.” 

Naruto grinned happily, catching the attention of the proprietor. “Don’t mind if I do!” 

It wasn’t until Naruto was well into his second bowl that Kakashi sensed the familiar presence. He didn’t do anything to acknowledge it. He wasn’t a dog. He wasn’t going to run up to someone with a wagging tail to welcome them home. Anyway, Guy was perfectly capable of sensing his presence at a distance. If he wanted to say hello, he would. 

Of course just saying hello wouldn’t be enough to satisfy Guy’s overblown taste for the melodramatic. A blue smoke bomb erupted in the street. “Naruto Uzumaki,” a deep voice boomed. “I have returned from my mission with an important question to ask you.”

“Mister Guy!” Naruto flew from his stool, hurtling at Guy like a shuriken. “Welcome home!” Guy caught him, spinning him around in a wide circle before hugging him close. They made quite a picture with Naruto’s blonde head tucked cozily in the crook of Guy’s powerful shoulder. Kakashi was glad that his own rash actions didn’t seem to have cost Naruto the big man’s friendship. 

“Thank you little warrior! Seeing you tonight is an unexpected joy! I thought I would have to seek you out tomorrow for my question. You must be celebrating something to be dining so late at a restaurant. Did you finally master one of the jutsu that have been troubling you in school?”

“I can stick a leaf to my forehead!” 

Guy was always so good with Naruto. It was an old exercise, but not a common one. Any other shinobi would wonder what Naruto was talking about and why it mattered. Guy just went along with Naruto’s excitement. “A momentous accomplishment indeed! Seeing your vibrant youth blossom in the springtime of victorious deeds brings me the greatest delight.”

Naruto blushed happily and Kakashi realized that he was stuck. No matter what happened, he would always be in love with Guy. Denying it was pointless. “You said you had a question?” His voice was too warm, but Guy must not have noticed because he grinned at Kakashi with the usual exuberance. 

“I do! But it occurs to me now that it might be too late to ask it, Rival.” 

Kakashi blamed his recent revelation for the way his heart stuttered at Guy’s entirely typical lack of regard for personal space. He refused to repeat his earlier mistake, but hope was hard to control. Against his better judgment, Kakashi said, “It’s never too late to ask,” in the same overly warm voice. 

“Great!” Guy threw two fingers into the air in a joyful salute. Naruto copied him with both hands, grinning wildly. 

“What’s the question?” The boy asked with a shout. “I know lots of answers! Believe it!” 

“You have to come to my apartment first, and see for yourself. Then I can ask it!” 

“Great! Let’s go!”

That put a slightly different complexion on the matter. It was a little late to be wandering around the village on a school night. “Ah, Guy. When I said it wasn’t too late for a question,” Kakashi began hesitantly. “It is already almost an hour past bedtime.” 

“Oh please, Kakashi!” Naruto looked up at him with clasped hands and those shining blue eyes that were impossible to deny. Disturbingly, Guy was copying the boy’s pose behind his back with pouting lips and actual tears in the corners of his eyes. 

“It’s really important that you see it first, Rival,” he said, pressing his hands together as though the force of his folded grip could make Kakashi concede. 

Kakashi sighed. “Straight to bed after,” he insisted. “No stories and no stalling.”

“Deal!” Naruto shouted, punching the air in victory. Guy caught him in mid leap and spun him around happily. 

“Nice, Kakashi! I knew you were hip and cool enough to find a way to indulge us without costing Naruto the good night’s sleep that all growing shinobi need!” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Kakashi murmured fondly, paying the bill before following his skipping comrades up the street at a more sedate pace. One day Naruto might have to learn self denial and real discipline, but Kakashi hoped it wouldn’t be too soon. Maybe he would be lucky enough to continue as Guy had, his zest for life never dimming. 

The apartment wasn’t far from Ichiraku, especially not at Naruto’s excited trot. It was one of the nicer complexes, with traditional roof tiles, spacious interiors, and friendly neighbors. Almost all of the inhabitants were single jounin who generally took long missions. They appreciated having neighbors who took care to ensure that they wouldn’t have to worry about their possessions while they were gone. Guy lived on the third floor, and he leapt to the top of the exterior staircase easily. Naruto raced up to join him just as he unlocked the door. Rather than be left behind, Kakashi teleported into the front room to join them nonchalantly. 

“Well,” Guy said, throwing open the door to his weight room, “what do you think?” 

All of the exercise equipment was gone. The weight bench that usually took pride of place in the center of the room had been replaced by a soft carpet. The stacks of barbells along one wall had been removed and there was a child sized bed. Instead of mirrors there were book shelves and toy boxes. Instead of a careful calendar of workout plans, there was a poster for ramen noodles with prominently featured naruto. 

“I thought you might like to stay with me, sometimes, so you wouldn’t have to be alone quite as much,” Guy continued, and a black pit opened up beneath Kakashi’s feet. 

He’d promised Naruto that anyone who tried to take him away from Kakashi would have to kill him first. It wasn’t the sort of promise he was inclined to break. Darkness and rage washed through him like a maelstrom. If anyone other than Guy tried something like this they would already have a chidori through their heart, but Guy was a friend. Kakashi could see Rin’s face mouthing his name. It was no different. She had loved Kakashi. Kakashi loved Guy. Either way was poison. Kakashi poisoned everything he touched. 

“It’s great!” Naruto said. The little boy was naturally oblivious to the tumult in Kakashi’s heart since Kakashi was shinobi enough to not even twitch an eyebrow when surprised. “Can I sleep here tonight?”

“I- I don’t know,” Guy said shakily, his eyes darting to Kakashi as though he really thought Kakashi might act on those feelings and kill him. That, more than anything was proof of what needed to be done. 

“Of course you can,” Kakashi said smiling. “If you have everything you need?” 

Naruto whooped delightedly, yanking a pair of pajamas out of the dresser and scampering off toward the bathroom where he was sure to find a brand new toothbrush perfectly suited to him. 

“Are you sure it’s okay, Rival?” Guy asked, twitching nervously and staring at Kakashi. 

“Naturally,” Kakashi said, still smiling, trying his best to dampen the aura of his killing intent, even a little. “You clearly went to a lot of trouble. Don’t you want him to stay?”

“Well. I thought. That is,” Guy stammered, tapping his fingers together like an anxious little girl and failing to keep eye contact. 

“Goodnight, Naruto!” Kakashi called, ignoring his rival’s antics. 

There was an immediate sound of spitting and Naruto rushed back in wearing bright green pajamas, still holding a toothbrush. “Goodnight, Kakashi! Are you going home? Will I see you tomorrow?”

Kakashi smiled and ruffled the boy’s hair, allowing Naruto to push forward and hug him tightly. “I love you, Naruto,” he said, teleporting away, unable to bear the shining smile any longer. 

Kakashi didn’t go far. He couldn’t. His intention was to bow out gracefully, to allow Guy and Naruto to be cheerful and full of life with no one to drag them down. Unfortunately, it was more complicated than that. Kakashi was legally responsible for Naruto. Moreover, if he bowed out and let Guy assume that legal role, Kakashi might never be allowed further contact with Naruto. The papers he’d signed to adopt the jinchuriki were very complicated. If something should happen to Guy, there was a chance Naruto would be left on his own again. The boy was still so young. He still needed to be protected. 

All of which made for a convenient excuse, but it wasn’t why Kakashi was masking his chakra signature to hide on the roof of Guy’s apartment complex, spying on the only living people he loved. 

He didn’t want to leave them. Something bad was going to happen. Maybe not immediately, maybe there were no enemies sharing those particular shadows with him, but they were shinobi, and something bad would happen. Kakashi had faith in his rival, but it would be much safer for the two of them to face any real danger together.

His personal feelings shouldn’t matter. Kakashi was excluded, unwelcome, isolated, but he wouldn’t leave. Even if he could only be in the shadows, just outside of the happy, domestic light, he needed to be close. One of his earliest missions as an ANBU working directly for the Fourth Hokage had been to protect Naruto that way, to lurk outside of wherever Kushina was while she was pregnant and make sure nothing bad happened to her or the unborn child. Some nights he wondered what might have happened if he hadn’t been removed from that protection detail. If he wouldn’t have been able to assist his teacher in those fatal final moments. If he couldn’t have somehow died in place of the greater man. 

Inside, in the golden light of the apartment, Naruto went to bed without any attempts to stall, telling Guy how much he loved him. Recovered from sensing Kakashi’s earlier killing intent, Guy shared the sentiment and gave Naruto a long winded speech about how happy he was to share his home with such a remarkable little boy. It was all very touching, and Naruto actually liked that type of verbal affirmation. He really would be much happier living with Guy than he had been with a sarcastic, taciturn piece of garbage like Kakashi. 

Kakashi stayed anyway, masking his own chakra signature while stretching out to sense the way Naruto and Guy both settled into their respective rooms and drifted off to sleep at almost exactly the same moment. Looking up at the lonely moon sharing his vigil, Kakashi suppressed a genuine smile. They really were a lot alike. Naruto really would be very happy living with Guy, and Kakashi would be just like the moon, always there, in the dark, whenever either of them needed him. 

“Waiting to come for me in my sleep, Rival?” 

Guy’s voice was deep and serious, but Kakashi laughed as he turned around. He needed that to be a joke. “You’ve gotten even better at masking your presence. I’m impressed.” 

“I thought I would follow suit, since you were putting so much effort into hiding up here.” It was a subtle insult, coming from Guy. Kakashi hadn’t even bothered to send a shadow clone off in the direction of his house before concealing himself. He was so tired, and he hadn’t thought Guy would care enough to notice. 

“You should go back to bed, Guy. It’s late.” 

“Don’t you want to challenge me? I felt your fighting spirit earlier, Rival! Don’t pretend you can hide that from me!” 

Kakashi sighed and looked back up at the full moon. “I’m sorry about that, Guy. You know what I am, so you have no reason to trust me, but I would never have attacked you. Not really. I will never hurt you, or let you come to harm. I swear it.” 

“You are my Eternal Rival, of course I believe you! I am only sorry that I cannot say the same. I thought this was what you wanted. I didn’t mean to cause you so much pain.”

“This is what I want,” Kakashi said firmly, still looking at the moon. “Naruto is happy, so I’m happy. As long as he’s safe, nothing else matters.”

“Kakashi! I mean it! I thought that this was what you wanted! Just because I am your equal in battle doesn’t mean I’m suddenly an analytical type. I saw how anxious you were when Naruto was ambushed when you were away. I thought you were looking for someone to protect Naruto when you had a mission. So then I thought that if he stayed here when you were out of the village, you would be more comfortable. I never intended to take anything away from you!” 

It seemed unavoidable, so Kakashi turned his gaze to Guy who had his fists clenched and the usual fire burning in his eyes. “That is what I want, Guy. This is for the best for everyone. You can take some shorter missions for a change, and I can go back to what I’m good at. Maybe I’ll even be able to return to ANBU, if I explain the situation to the Third Lord.”

 

“You can’t be serious! You aren’t suited for ANBU at all! I saw the kinds of things they ordered you to do! My Eternal Rival should never have to do anything so dishonorable!” 

Watching Guy pose for a righteous lecture was too much. Kakashi looked down. “I think about that mission a lot. Not the killing. I’ve done enough of that that it doesn’t matter. But I think about you and Itachi a lot.”

“Me and Itachi? Did I fight Itachi Uchiha that day? I don’t remember it very well, if I did.” 

Surprising himself, Kakashi laughed. “No. I told you, it isn’t the fighting that I think about. It’s the food. Kosuke was on your team for the mission, if you remember. Your team all shared a hot pot in the sun. Itachi and I, who were shadowing you, took the opportunity to eat a food pill in the shade. I think about that day a lot, and the fact that some shinobi can eat hotpot and laugh together while on a mission.”

“Kakashi! I will study with Kosuke and learn to make the best hot pot in the world! If I cannot make a delicious hot pot in one week, then I will practice chopping ten thousand onions with no cold water in sight! I promise to make you a tasty hot pot every single day, so please don’t feel you need to go back to ANBU!”

“You don’t understand, Guy. You don’t understand how happy the memory of that day makes me. Your mission didn’t have to be a merciless assassination, because mine was. You didn’t have to subsist on food pills, because I did. If I could have a wish, if someone like me were allowed to wish, I would do that for Naruto. There is nothing I wouldn’t do, no rule I wouldn’t break, no blood I wouldn’t spill, if it meant that he could have a life like that in the sun.”

“Then you’d better come inside.”

“Be serious.”

“Did you know I tried to join ANBU?”

Kakashi’s breath caught in his throat. He had nothing to say to that. Killing downed enemies was by no means the worst thing he’d ever done in ANBU. No one was less suited to that type of work than Guy. It didn’t take much thinking to realize why he would have asked for the assignment, either. 

“I asked the Hokage to put me there so I could be closer to you. If you return to that life, how long do you think it will be before Naruto tries to join you?”

“I wasn’t planning to leave without a trace. I will always come for Naruto if he needs me. He wouldn’t need to go looking for me.” But he would. Of course he would. 

“You’re his brother, Kakashi. I may be his friend. You may allow me to join your family, but you will always be his ideal.” It wouldn’t even take very much. If Kakashi disappeared or died and Naruto continued to show promise, all Danzo or someone like him would have to do would be to hint at Kakashi’s distinguished history in black ops. Naruto would jump at the chance to follow those footsteps. 

“I can’t be an example of the kind of life I want him to live, Guy. I’ve never had that kind of life.” 

“I’ll help you!” Kakashi was treated to the full Nice Guy pose, thumbs up, sparkling teeth, and all. “I’ll do something every day to make you happy! Then he’ll see that even hip and cool elite shinobi live lives full of camaraderie and good feeling!” 

“I don’t like hot pot that much, Guy. No one likes hot pot that much.” 

“Ah.” That was all the warning Kakashi had before Guy was in his space. It wasn’t an attack. Guy’s right hand was hot on Kakashi’s hip and his face was close enough for someone’s nose to be broken with an easy headbutt, but it wasn’t an attack. “I wasn’t thinking of cooking.”

“This is how you try to convince me to live a life of honor?” It was tempting. Guy would be enthusiastic, because Guy was enthusiastic about everything physical. They could probably have a lot of fun together. Kakashi had had a lot of fun with a lot of different people, and there was no real reason for things with Guy to be different. Maybe if Kakashi hadn’t loved the big idiot quite as much he could have convinced himself to go along. 

“My Eternal Rival is already an honorable man,” Guy said simply. His thumb slid half an inch, pressing down, just a little. A micro movement like that couldn’t be called stroking anything. Abdominal muscles weren’t erotic places to be touched, anyway. “I don’t have to convince you of anything. I just want to make you happy.” 

Guy’s thumb slipped again, even less than half an inch this time, but still in the same direction, downward. It made it difficult for Kakashi to continue. He tried. Kakashi was worthless scum, but he wasn’t quite garbage. “You can’t - “ 

“I love you.”

Every possible objection tried to vanish from Kakashi’s brain as his hormones took over, but he clung desperately to sanity. “You don’t.”

“I have loved you for years, Kakashi.” It was strange that Guy could be so calm about it. One would expect exclamations and posing with one of his declarations. Maybe he knew how much more effective a soft voice and a burning hand on Kakashi’s waist would be. Or maybe he’d spent years thinking about how unwelcome Kakashi would find a declaration like that. “All of my most youthful dreams in the springtime of my awakening desire featured you. I still have a great many youthful dreams of you.” 

“Yes,” Kakashi said, fighting to maintain his reason. “But they changed, didn’t they? When you realized what I was?” 

Guy tilted his head to one side, looking at Kakashi thoughtfully, and his thumb moved again. Manfully, Kakashi refrained from ripping anyone's clothing off. “You are my Rival, as you have always been. It isn’t like you to misunderstand. I told you, I made a mistake. I thought you wanted someone to guard Naruto when you could not be with him. I thought you were seducing me to that end, and though my desire demanded I remain, I knew it would be wrong.” 

“Guy, that’s ridiculous.” It made perfect sense. It was Guy’s brand of ridiculous reasoning. “You would protect Naruto no matter what. I don’t have to fuck you for that. You’d open the gates for any kid in Leaf Village.” 

“No. You don’t have to do anything. But if your desire matches mine, then we should reach for the future together.” Something broke. It may have been Kakashi. His mask was down and he was kissing Guy like the world was about to end. Kakashi’s world was ending. It had to. The stars always faded with the sunrise. 

“So, Rival,” Guy said, not backing away an inch, his breath still ghosting over Kakashi’s lips. “Do you concede that there is something I could do every day to make you happy?”

“Well I don’t know about every day,” Kakashi began, grinning at Guy’s pout, “but I do have this fantasy of you in an apron.” 

Guy smiled, but his eyes were dark and serious. “There is no fantasy of yours that I will not fulfill.” 

Part of Kakashi wanted to try another joke, to find a little distance by any means necessary, but he remembered too well how he’d felt when Guy had been the one to pull away. To see what was right and not act bespoke a lack of courage. Taking Guy by the hand, Kakashi led his rival down into the apartment, leaving the darkness behind.


	14. Chapter 14

“Wash your hands first,” Kakashi said, not needing to look back to know that Naruto was reaching for the fruit bowl with his grubby paws. 

“Fine,” the boy grumbled gracelessly, bouncing off toward the bathroom. 

“I’m sorry to intrude, Kakashi-sensei,” Lee said. Kakashi didn’t need to look at him either to know that the boy was executing a formal bow. “Guy-sensei and Naruto invited me over after our extra training this afternoon, but I did not know you would already be cooking dinner.” 

“That’s fine.” Kakashi gave the meat an absent stir then returned to chopping the vegetables. “You’re always welcome here, Lee, and I’ve made more than enough for four. I have to cook in bulk to feed that little bottomless pit.”

“Hey! I am not a bottomless pit,” Naruto protested, throwing an apple core into the garbage as he started on a peach. 

“Is there anything that I can do to help?” 

“You and Naruto can set the table. That would be a big help.” 

“Yeah! Lee, you get the plates, and I’ll get the silverware, okay?”

Naruto didn’t make a move toward the silverware drawer, though, just sat back and watched Lee. Kakashi added the vegetables to the pan, watching both boys out of the corner of his eye. 

“Okay!” Lee had been training with Guy for almost a year. He was more than fast enough to respond to one of Naruto’s pranks, but that would teach the wrong lesson. Kakashi ensured that nothing happened when the boy opened the cupboard and removed four plates. 

“What?!” Naruto dashed to the cupboard and jerked it open. Kakashi gently tugged a wire, releasing the pin he’d placed to prop up Naruto’s bucket trap. Without the extra support it toppled, dumping cold water all over the boy. 

Naruto burst out laughing. “I got myself! Kakashi, did you see, I got myself!” The boy clutched his sides, falling to the floor and rolling around in the puddle, overwhelmed by the force of his giggles. “I meant to get Lee, you know. Instead I got me!” 

Kakashi couldn’t help chuckling a little at the boy’s antics. He was just so good natured. Even Lee joined in the laughter. 

“I’ve asked you not to use water traps in the house, Naruto,” Kakashi said, in as parental a voice as he could manage under the circumstances. 

Immediately, Lee zipped away and appeared holding a mop, saluting smartly. “I’ll clean it up, Kakashi-sensei,” he said, as eager to please as always. 

“That’s kind of you, Lee, since Naruto needs to go change out of those wet clothes before dinner. It’s a good thing that the trap didn’t catch you, though, since you don’t have any dry clothes here.” 

Naruto stopped giggling and eyes went wide. “You would have had to go home.”

Lee looked uncomfortable, holding the mop in one hand and scratching the back of his head uneasily with the other. “Don’t worry about it, Naruto. I doubt I would have gotten quite as wet as you did.” 

Naruto looked sheepishly at Kakashi. “I didn’t think again, did I?”

Kakashi smiled. “It’s all right to play pranks, Naruto.”

“As long as they don’t hurt anyone,” the boy finished. “But Lee’s feelings would have been hurt if he had to go home and eat all by himself. I’m sorry, Kakashi.” 

Naruto came over to give Kakashi a big, wet hug. Kakashi allowed it, since his apron absorbed most of the water, and tousled the boy’s hair affectionately as he pulled away. Grinning, Naruto stepped back and turned to go change. 

“Left pants pocket,” Kakashi said, turning back to his neglected cooking. 

“Hey!” Naruto pouted, pulling the live toad from his own pocket. “How did you know?”

“You’re still too obvious about placement. You might have succeeded in dropping it in my apron pocket, but through only two layers of clothing, it’s far too easy to feel the movement.” 

“Hmm.” Naruto crossed his arms behind his head, crinkling his face thoughtfully. “I’ll get you next time, you know.”

“We’ll see. Right now, we’re only five minutes out from dinner. Toad: in the garden. Naruto: change your clothes. Lee: please do mop that up, if you don’t mind. And where is Guy, anyway?” 

“Sorry I’m late,” the big man said, as if on cue, stealing Kakashi’s line as he entered the kitchen. “I had to drop something off for TenTen.” 

“Welcome home,” Kakashi said, not looking up, enjoying the little thrill that always accompanied those words. 

Guy grinned, and then compounded his offense by stealing one of Kakashi’s best moves, too. Tugging Kakashi’s apron strings to turn him around, he added his own twist to the combo by sliding Kakashi’s mask down with one hand that casually slipped along Kakashi’s jaw line to cradle the back of his head, pulling him in for a kiss. 

Not about to let that go unchallenged, Kakashi flipped them around, shoved Guy back against the sink, and kissed him a little more. “Go wash up for dinner,” he said, rolling his mask back into place. 

“Of course, Rival. You know best.” 

Kakashi didn’t bother to hide his grin, just dished up the food and sat down to dinner with his family. 

“Thank you for the food, and for inviting me to share your meal,” Lee said formally, reminding them all what good manners looked like as Naruto started wolfing down his dinner. 

“Well, you and Naruto both trained hard today! Hard work deserves a reward!” Guy grinned at Lee and gave him a thumbs up that was only a little inhibited by the chopsticks in his hand. 

“You worked especially hard today, Naruto,” Lee observed. “Do you think you’re ready for your graduation exam tomorrow?” 

“Of course!” Naruto held up two fingers confidently. “I’ve been doing special training every day with my big brother, so I’m sure to pass no matter what! Even if it is clones, probably.” 

Kakashi shared a look with Guy, but neither of them said anything. There was no point in ruining dinner. Later, Kakashi wondered if mitigating the boy’s expectations might have helped to soften the blow. If things might have been different if he had spoken about the possibility of failure before it happened. 

Either way, it was all Kakashi’s fault. He spent every moment he could spare training with Naruto, but it hadn’t been enough. That was the way of the world. If Naruto still couldn’t do a clone jutsu, then he shouldn’t graduate from the academy. Iruka was right to fail him. Missions and murder could wait another year, and Naruto could be a child for a little while longer. However, letting Naruto know his opinion on the matter had been a serious mistake. Kakashi should have been much more subtle about showing his relief. 

“You don’t want me to pass at all!” Naruto had yelled, tears flowing from his eyes like a waterfall. “You don’t want me to be a shinobi! If you did, you’d make them pass me, like Guy did for Lee!” 

Kakashi should have hugged him, probably, or said something trite and affirming about familial pride and affection. He definitely shouldn’t have voiced his opinion that Naruto wasn’t ready to be a genin. When the boy ran off, Kakashi should have followed at once, but his instincts were always wrong when it came to Naruto. Kakashi thought that the boy just needed some time to adjust. With a little time, he would have to realize that he wasn’t ready to put his life on the line for a mission. Not yet, not while he was still so young. 

Instead, Naruto had stolen an extremely valuable scroll full of forbidden ninjutsu from the Hokage’s mansion. Kakashi wasn’t sure how he could have been so wrong, and he had no idea what Naruto thought he would be able to do with high level techniques when his available chakra was so low. It would be incredibly dangerous for a jinchuriki with low chakra to attempt those techniques, even beyond the usual reasons that such techniques were forbidden. 

Deeply grateful that the Hokage had alerted him and given him an opportunity to resolve the matter quietly, Kakashi raced through the forest, searching desperately. An hour wasn’t much, but if he could get the scroll back, then no one else in the village needed to know just how many laws Naruto had broken. 

It took Kakashi almost half an hour to find Naruto in a small clearing, squinting at the scroll in concentration as he trained. Landing next to him, Kakashi put a heavy hand on his shoulder. 

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” As relieved as he was to find Naruto, Kakashi almost didn’t sense the attack. There was no time. He threw Naruto out of the line of fire, but clearly the ground had been prepared weeks in advance. The traps were well set and the attack came from too many directions at once. There was no time for a substitution. Kakashi had no choice except accepting the pain as dozens of kunai struck home. He barely managed to block half of them. 

He managed to stay on his feet. It wouldn’t do to worry Naruto. This was Kakashi’s fault for approaching the situation as a parent instead of a shinobi.

“Brother!” Naruto yelled, rushing back to his side despite the hand Kakashi held up, indicating that he should keep his distance. Of course the boy would disobey just when it mattered most. Kakashi stumbled forward a step and slumped to one knee. The kunai had been poisoned. Of course they had been. 

Out of the shadows of the trees stepped one of the Academy teachers. Mizuki was his name, but Kakashi didn’t know anything else about him. Naruto had never been in his class. “Well that’s lucky, at least.”

“Sensei!” Naruto rushed at him hopefully. Of course he did. He was a child. It wasn’t in his nature to suspect betrayal. “There was a trap or something and Kakashi is hurt!”

“Idiot,” Mizuki said, kicking Naruto hard and sending him flying. He would pay for that. “Of course I set a trap. I knew the Copy Ninja would track you down, and I wasn’t going to risk going head to head with him.” 

“Sensei!” Naruto got up, holding his ribs the way he had years before on a very different night. He looked so small. “Why?”

Mizuki shrugged. “I imagine because his mission is to protect you.”

“His mission?”

Grinning maliciously at Kakashi, who had just managed to pull out one of the poisoned blades from his chest, Mizuki winked. “The Copy Ninja has quite a record. That’s probably why they put him in charge of the most dangerous monster in the village.”

“What do you mean?” 

“You helped me out here, Naruto, so I’ll tell you a secret. You know that demon everyone talks about? The Nine Tailed Fox that attacked the village ten years ago and killed Iruka-sensei’s parents? It’s sealed in you. That’s why two of the strongest jounin in the village have to watch over you. Or did you really believe that Kakashi Hatake left ANBU to take care of a five year old?”

The poison was too much. Even if Kakashi managed to extract it, he estimated his own chance of survival at less than 15 percent. Naruto looked even worse. He couldn’t be badly injured, but the tears on his cheeks shone bright in the moonlight. 

“Not a mission,” Kakashi managed to gasp. He wasn’t going to die leaving Naruto with doubts. “I took you in because of your father.”

Naruto’s eyes went wide. The tears stopped. “My father?”

Mizuki seemed curious despite himself. He took half a step forward. 

“The fastest shinobi in the world.”

Naruto looked shocked, as though his whole world had stopped for a moment. Kakashi was careful in his phrasing, but he hadn’t been telling Naruto bedtime stories every night about the same man to no end. Naruto knew. Naruto understood. Mizuki didn’t. He took another step forward. 

“So run!” Kakashi ordered, springing up, chidori in hand, sprinting the four steps to the shocked teacher and thrusting his killing blow through the man’s heart. Too slow. He collapsed to the ground on top of a log. Mizuki was a few paces away, clutching a bleeding shoulder. 

“You’re pretty fast yourself,” Mizuki said cruelly, panting and clutching his wound. “Even knowing that the Comrade Killer could never go down so easily, I just barely got away.” 

The regret Kakashi felt over failing to kill the irritating chunin was nothing compared to his despair. Naruto hadn’t run. With a grandstanding narcissist pontificating, Naruto would have had a good chance to get away while Kakashi stalled, but he hadn’t moved at all. 

“I’ll tell you what,” the bastard continued. “Just for you, I’ll let Naruto run. After I kill you, he can have two minutes to run in any direction he wants. I won’t let him live, of course, but he’ll have all the time your noble sacrifice would have bought for him.” 

“You aren’t going to kill Kakashi.” Naruto’s voice was low and threatening. He was going to fight. Kakashi’s only comfort was that he couldn’t possibly outlive the boy for long. “Shadow Clone.” 

For a moment, Kakashi thought he must have misheard. On his best days, Naruto could barely manage to create an ordinary clone. He had other ways of attacking that stood an actual chance of buying him time, even against a chunin. Why would he try clones? But Naruto didn’t just try. 

Instantly, the forest was full of children. Naruto was standing on every branch, crowding protectively around Kakashi, and rushing at Mizuki to attack. There were thousands. Thousands of shadow clones. The kind of chakra it took to do that was monstrous, but aside from whisker like lines on his face and red eyes, Naruto seemed fine. He was in control. Beneath his mask, Kakashi smiled. 

“Should I take them out?” One of the clones asked, shaking hands on the kunai in Kakashi’s back. “Iruka -sensei told us in first aid that a weapon can keep the blood in, but you pulled out the ones in your stomach.”

“Out,” Kakashi agreed. “Poisoned. Blood loss is preferable.” 

Naruto’s eyes went wide and blue, but it didn’t seem to affect the number of clones swarming the area. It sounded like Mizuki was getting quite a beating. 

“Okay. It’s going to be okay, you know. I went to the hospital for help. And another me went to find Iruka-sensei in case they wouldn’t listen to me at the hospital. And another me went to see if Guy’s team is back from their mission yet. And another me took the scroll back to the Old Man, so he should definitely listen if I can get past the ANBU and actually talk to him.” 

“Good work.” Coughing up a little more blood as Naruto removed the kunai from his back, Kakashi was glad his mask kept the boy from realizing the extent of his internal injuries. “It’s a useful technique. In the future, try to make your true location less obvious when you use it.” 

“Eh. Your chidori must have hurt Mizuki-sensei a lot. He’s going down pretty easily over there.” 

Smiling, Kakashi reached out a hand to ruffle the boy’s hair. He had a bad feeling that Naruto needed to move closer to allow it. Darkness was rising in his vision, but he could still see that messy golden halo. “So, you can do the jutsu you needed to be able to graduate. You still don’t follow orders though.” 

“There’s something about that,” Naruto said slowly, his face taking on that blank look it got when he couldn’t remember a lesson. Kakashi wanted to laugh, but he didn’t have the energy. He needed to conserve his strength if he wanted to live to see that face etched in stone high over the village. “Oh! Right! In the shinobi world, those who break rules and disobey orders are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash!” 

Grinning, Naruto adjusted the green goggles on his forehead and for a moment it was just like looking up at Obito. Kakashi wondered if this was what absolution felt like. 

“I’m proud of you, Naruto.”

“Hey! Kakashi!” The darkness receded a little as Naruto shook him, trying to keep him alert until help could arrive. “Did you really take me in because of my father?” 

Asking questions was basic first aide as taught at the Academy, but there was a very real chance that Kakashi would die before making it to the hospital, so he answered honestly. “At first. I don’t know that I would have taken in a boy that I found in an alley if he hadn’t been the son of my teacher, but Naruto, I’m so happy I did.” 

“Yeah?”

Kakashi blinked. Naruto was shaking him again. “Hang on! Okay? The Old Man is on his way with everyone. Everyone is coming so just talk to me!” 

“I’m trying Naruto. I never wanted this for you.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I’ve had to watch so many friends die. I hoped you wouldn’t have to do the same.”

“I don’t if you just hold on, you know. They’re here! Over here!” 

“I won’t do that to you. I won’t. We’ll go home, me, you, and Guy. Lee, too, it seems like, these days. You’re my family.”

Kakashi winced as the medics began cutting away his uniform, but he kept his eye firmly on Naruto. The boy didn’t deserve to watch a member of his family die. Keeping his eye open, focused on the moonlight shining in Naruto’s hair, Kakashi knew that just this once his best would be enough. He could be what Naruto needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Kakashi could defeat Mizuki in the time between two heartbeats. I hope it doesn't require too much of a suspension of disbelief for me to suggest that Mizuki knew that, and spent a month or so preparing the ground for one heck of a trap. I didn't want to force a new character into the story, and I really wanted Naruto to keep that moment when the protected becomes the protector. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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